NZ vs PAK 2020: Pakistan players take 5 rounds for entire squad to test COVID-19 negative

Pakistan’s men's cricket team is currently in New Zealand for the NZ vs PAK 2020 series. The New Zealand vs Pakistan schedule has both the teams playing 2 Tests and 3 ODIs against each other. The Men in Green hit a major bump in the road upon their arrival for the tour and came in the center of the limelight for the wrong reasons. Their 53-man squad had all their members testing negative before boarding their flight from Lahore.

However, 6 Pakistan COVID-19 players tested positive when they were rechecked in New Zealand. The Men in Green were also seen breaking protocols during their 14-day quarantine period. It led to two more players testing positive for Covid-19 during the mandatory testing rounds. The Pakistan cricket team was also denied to train during their quarantine period as eight members of their team tested positive for COVID-19.

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Pakistan COVID-19 players fiasco over?

However, the Pakistan squad has been cleared to leave their isolation facility in Christchurch. However, it is still pending the approval of New Zealand’s health ministry. The decision came after no Pakistani player tested positive in the 5th round of COViD-19 testing. New Zealand Cricket released a statement recently on the same, which said - “Additionally, the member of the squad who was taken into quarantine in Auckland after arriving from Dubai felt unwell but subsequently tested negative, so he has also been cleared to leave the facility.” The Pakistan players had been tested on the first, third day, and sixth days of their stay in isolation.

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Once, the touring team receives an all clear, they are set for intra-squad warmup matches in Queenstown before they take on the hosts. The Twenty20 series starts between New Zealand and Pakistan will have 3 matches that are scheduled to start on December 18.

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Pakistan cricket team head coach Misbah-ul-Haq interacted with the media last week where he spoke on how his team has been affected after they were not allowed to train during their period in isolation. The touring team players have complained about being physically and mentally affected due to the protocols they had to go through in New Zealand. the Pakistani players were not allowed to go anywhere as they were forced into a quarantined hotel for almost two weeks.

New Zealand vs Pakistan schedule

Babar Azam will lead the Men in Green across all three formats with the NZ vs PAK 2020 starting off with a three-match T20I series. The New Zealand vs Pakistan schedule also consists of 2 Test matches that will be played as a port of the ongoing ICC Test Championship. 

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