Four Balochistan players in Pakistan's National T20 Cup test positive for COVID-19

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Wednesday that four players from Balochistan team in the ongoing National T20 Cup have tested positive for COVID-19. The four players in question, whose identities haven't been revealed yet, are now placed in quarantine for ten days.

"All other players were asymptomatic and tested negative, and will continue to participate in the tournament. All other participants and their families underwent testing on Tuesday and have returned negative," said PCB in its release.

The PCB went on to say that the positive cases in Balochistan camp mean that its match on October 6 against Northern has been swapped with the match between Northern and Southern Punjab. The swap means that the match between Balochistan and Northern will now be played on October 9 (Saturday) under floodlights.

"Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa match on 7 October will be played as scheduled. Balochistan will beef up their squad with players from their Cricket Association Championship three-day tournament side. The player transfer will be from bubble-to-bubble but the replacement players will undergo CT-PCR testing as per the PCB Covid-19 Protocols," further said the statement.

The PCB added that players and support staff bound to participate in the men's T20 World Cup in the UAE will participate in the National T20 Cup on October 6 and 7. On October 8, they will be shifted to the bubble for the mega event, which is being set up by the PCB as per the regulations by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"The PCB continues to monitor the situation and is retesting all participants and their families. It has also been decided the frequency of testing will be increased for the remainder of the tournament," concluded the statement.


Pakistan's first match in the men's T20 World Cup will be against India on October 24 in Dubai. The 2009 champions are drawn in Group 2 of Super 12 stage alongside India, New Zealand, Afghanistan and two yet-to-be-known teams from Round 1 - IANS