Pakistan to send cricket team to South Africa, Zimbabwe by chartered flight

The Pakistan Cricket Board is likely to send its entire cricket contingent for tours to South Africa and Zimbabwe in March-April by a special chartered flight to avoid any COVID-19 complications. “The board is working on this option because the consensus is that sending so many players and officials on a commercial flight to Africa could be risky,” a source in the board said.

He also disclosed that the selectors would be picking players for the Tests, ODI and T20Is for both tours and they will return home together. Pakistan is due to tour South Africa from late March to play ODIs and T20 Internationals in Johannesburg and Centurion and later fly to Harare for a Test and ODI series against Zimbabwe.

“The experience we had while sending the players and officials on a commercial flight to New Zealand was not a good one and the team had to face many problems because of this after landing in Auckland. That is why we are now working on a plan to send them via a chartered flight.”

The source said a chartered flight would also be used to fly the team from South Africa to Zimbabwe and while returning home.As many as 10 Pakistani players tested positive for COVID-19 after landing in Auckland and had to spend 14 days in total quarantine in Christchurch instead of the originally planned three-day isolation. The Pakistan board had also got the ECB to arrange for a chartered flight to fly the team from Lahore to London last year.