How did PCB allow Sammy, Wahab to rejoin Zalmi squad?
Duo were put in three-day quarantine after breaking bio-secure bubble
Source: AFP
Darren Sammy and Wahab Riaz have been cleared to rejoin Peshawar Zalmi team without completing the required three-day isolation, ESPNCricinfo reported Sunday.
Riaz led his team on the field in the second game of PSL 6 while Sammy was seen in the team dugout.
Early Saturday morning, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that a player and a team official have been placed in a three-day quarantine after coming into contact with someone outside the bubble. No names were given but both individuals were identified as belonging to the same team.
ESPNCricinfo reported that a PCB official identified the two individuals as Sammy and Riaz. They met team owner Javed Afridi who was not part of the bubble.
PCB rules state that if any individual violates the bubble, they are to be isolated for three days and two tests shall be conducted 48 hours apart. If both tests come back negative, the individual may rejoin their team.
The PCB official said two tests were conducted, one on Friday night and another on Saturday night. Both came back negative. Riaz and Sammy were released from quarantine before the mandatory 72 hours were complete.
Some media reports on Sunday suggested that Zalmi threatened to pull out of the PSL if the duo were not allowed to rejoin the squad ahead of the season opener.
It was also reported that the team bus left the hotel half-an-hour late as the negotiations were underway between the league and Zalmi management.
However, the PCB, in a statement released just before the start of the match between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, announced that both individuals have been allowed after the ‘franchise offered its regret’ over the breach of ‘bio-secure’ bubble.
“Appeal on a player and official guilty of breaching bio-secure bubble on Friday has been accepted,” the PCB said in the statement. “The two individuals have been allowed to integrate with the side. The franchise has offered its regrets to the PCB on Friday’s breach and has thanked the PSL for accepting their appeal. They have further assured protocols will be followed and respected as everyone wants the PSL to succeed.”
