Kashif Bhatti gave Pakistan Test squad a scare by testing positive for Covid after arriving in England but has been cleared
Pakistan’s topsy-turvy preparations for the Test series against England took another twist yesterday when it was revealed by the England & Wales Cricket Board that Kashif Bhatti had tested positive upon his arrival in the United Kingdom.
The left-arm spinner has now been cleared to return to the squad after undergoing a precautionary period of self-isolation.
A surprise pick for the tour, the 33-year-old, who is yet to make his international debut, had tested positive for Covid-19 in Pakistan on 23 June and was subsequently excluded from the original squad, which arrived in England five days later.
However, two further tests were undertaken in Pakistan by Bhatti on 1 and 4 July, both of which returned negative results.
Following the two negative results in Pakistan, Bhatti finally travelled to England with a delayed third batch of players consisting of pace-bowler Imran Khan, promising young batsman Haider Ali and masseur Malang Ali, and landed in England on 8 July.
However, worryingly for both ECB and PCB, his first test after his arrival in England, conducted under ECB protocols, returned a positive result.
The spinner as part of established protocol, was asked to self-isolate from the rest of the squad who were then based in Worcester, as part of their 14-day quarantine period.
Interestingly, the PCB had no qualms in announcing with great fanfare the negative test results of the initial group of players who arrived earlier in the UK, but strangely enough they were conspicuously silent about any such information when Bhatti and his 3 co-travellers arrived to join the squad, which immediately raised suspicions.
Unsurprisingly, questions have now been asked from some quarters about the efficacy of the tests which were held in Pakistan and must bring some doubt to the testing regime in place in Pakistan.
Thankfully for Pakistan, though, the player has since returned two negative tests in England with no risk of infection to other players and staff, and has been allowed to integrate and practice with the squad who are currently on the second leg of their training and practice camp in Derby.
“The player had returned a positive test result for the remnants of a previous COVID-19 infection and in consultation with Public Health England and a virologist a safety-first approach was taken to isolate the player”, an ECB spokesperson said.
Understandably, questions had been asked about Bhatti’s absence from training sessions in Worcester since his arrival on 8th July, especially since PCB-supplied pictures of the squad training together did not include the player at any time.
However, it has now come to light that he had been in self-isolation separate from the squad since his arrival. Whilst he was in the same hotel as his team-mates, he did not train with them and he travelled separately from the rest of the squad when they travelled from Worcester to Derby.
ECB have been rightfully lauded for their pioneering work in creating safe environments conducive for the resumption of cricket.
The emergence of Kashif Bhatti’s case where he was cleared in Pakistan to join his team-mates and then a few days later found to be carrying remnants of the COVID-19 virus by virtue of ECB tests is solid testimony of their protocols and procedures and for the integrity of the bio-secure environment as a whole.
Some cynicism had previously been expressed about the quality of COVID-19 testing in Pakistan and Bhatti’s subsequent positive test will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows ahead of the upcoming Test series.
To further complicate matters in terms of the public perception about the health and safety aspect of tour arrangements, the news that Jofra Archer is now self-isolating after breaching ECB’s stringent protocols and has been excluded from the ongoing second Test against West Indies could not have come at a worse time for the home-side’s cricket administrators.
For Pakistan and for the tour in general, Kashif Bhatti’s return to the fold is good news and shows that hopefully no long-lasting damage has been done to the integrity of the bio-secure environment.
here is also a sense of relief that Bhatti who was carrying remnants of an existing infection has not passed the infection to his fellow players which would have resulted in disastrous consequences for Pakistan’s preparations and possibly the tour as a whole.
The road to cricket’s rehabilitation in times of COVID-19 was always going to be a bumpy ride and the news related to Kashif Bhatti will only increase the anxiety amongst players and administrators alike. From a Pakistani perspective, the PCB may need to re-examine how they conduct testing at their end and only a careful review of procedures and protocols can allay fears of a recurrence and which could well prove disastrous for the tour of England.
https://inews.co.uk/sport/cricket/k...riving-in-england-but-has-been-cleared-545968
