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PSL: PCB allows Naseem Shah to rejoin team bubble despite breaking COVID norms

The Quetta Gladiators' pacer now has to clear a pre-isolation Covid-19 test, which will allow him to re-enter the team hotel in Lahore.

By Nilavro Ghosh | May 28, 2021 | 2 Min Read

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has gone back on its decision to exclude pacer Naseem Shah from the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Thursday despite him breaking COVID-19 protocols. Shah has been allowed to enter the team hotel in Lahore and will remain in isolation. He will be flying to Abu Dhabi along with the contingent left behind by the first flights that carried 202 personnel on Thursday. The Quetta Gladiators pacer had initially presented a negative COVID test but the issue was with its timing. As per PSL norms, players travelling through chartered flights from Karachi and Lahore were required to assemble at the team hotel on May 24 with a negative COVID test not more than two days old. Shah’s negative test report was on May 18.

The PCB, upon recommendation of the medical advisory panel for the PSL, released the pacer from the rest of the competition on Monday. At that time, the director and commercial head of the PSL’s current edition, Babar Hamid, said that the PCB would not consider any sort of compromise for any player.

“The PCB will not compromise on any violations and will expel the player or player support personnel irrespective of his stature and standing in the game if they are found to be flouting the prescribed protocols or regulations,” Hamid had said. However, Pakistan’s top cricketing body has evidently failed to keep its own word.

SELECTIVE TREATMENT?

Shah’s re-inclusion in the PSL was reportedly a matter of extensive debate. The PCB and all PSL franchises held a meeting and a compromise was agreed upon by the participants regarding Shah’s inclusion. The question that arises out of the decision more often is whether a player who maybe is not of the same stature as Shah would get the same treatment.

The Gladiators’ pacer now has to clear a pre-isolation COVID-19 test, which will allow him to re-enter the team hotel in Lahore. Then, he must present back-to-back negative COVID tests, following which he will be allowed to board a flight to Abu Dhabi.