Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has blamed the poor traveling arrangements for the several COVID-19 cases in the touring set-up in New Zealand.
Earlier, the Pakistan squad had traveled to England in the summer on a chartered flight but the costs were borne by the England and Wales Cricket Board due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
However, last month, the entire 54-member Pakistan contingent was sent on a commercial flight to Auckland and for which the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was criticized, but the board had insisted it was not cost-effective to send the squad on a chartered flight because of the duration of the journey.
The players traveled in commercial flights where health safety measures were lax in economy class resulting in, 10 players testing positive for the COVID-19 on arrival in Christchurch after a nearly 24-hour journey, leading the New Zealand health authorities to ensure the tourists spent 14-days in quarantine.
Recently, PCB CEO Wasim Khan has admitted that some players and officials of the Pakistan A team had to travel in the economy class to New Zealand since the seats for the entire contingent were not available in the business and first-class sections.
In his interview to a television channel, Hafeez has blamed the traveling in commercial flights for the COVID-19 outbreak in the Pakistan team on the New Zealand tour.
As per PTI, Hafeez said after returning to Pakistan from New Zealand: “I think the players contracted the virus on the commercial flight since some of them had to travel in economy class where social distancing precautions were lax and our players got exposed.”
He also criticized the treatment given to the Pakistani cricketer and officials in New Zealand during their two-week quarantine stay in the arranged facility at Christchurch.
He further said the quarantine time in New Zealand was like spending time in jail where preparations for the T20I was quite tough.
Expressing his sentiments, the veteran said, “True we are supposed to be ambassadors of the country but I don’t think we were treated like that in New Zealand. The attitude kept with us was not right and we were treated like prisoners. It was not easy for us to prepare for the T20 matches after spending time in jail conditions and we had just days before the first match.”
Noteworthy, he isn’t PCB's centrally-contracted player but was a standout performer for Pakistan in the recent T20I series against the Black Caps, scoring 0, 99, and 41.
(With PTI Inputs)
