PSL 2022: What would be COVID-19 protocols for seventh edition?

• PCB develops a new advisory policy for coronavirus SOPs as cases surge in the country.
• PCB will allow a match to proceed even if up to eight team players test positive out of a squad of 20.
  
• PCB advises that 20 to 30 players be kept in a "secure bubble" by each team.
  

With the seventh Pakistan Super League (PSL) about to begin amidst a renewed coronavirus outbreak in the country, the PCB has developed a new advisory policy for coronavirus SOPs that will allow each PSL team to hold 20 players, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.

According to sources, the PCB will allow a match to proceed even if up to eight team players test positive out of a squad of 20. The eleventh and twelfth players will provide substitutes for the players who tested positive for COVID-19.

The match will be called off if nine members of the squad test positive for COVID-19. However, in the event of an emergency, it has been advised that 20 to 30 players be kept in the hotel's "secure bubble" by each team.

If a player tests positive for coronavirus, they will be required to isolate for ten days and a substitute will be taken from the secure bubble.

On Thursday and Friday, each team will select an additional two players in the supplemental draft.

According to PCB's new policy, chartered flights between Karachi and Lahore will fly two teams at a time for the matches.

Meanwhile, sources have confirmed that players from the South African cricket team will be available throughout the PSL tournament.

Franchises allowed to induct more players

Earlier PCB had allowed PSL franchises to induct more players into the squad for the tournament's seventh edition.

The board had allowed the franchises to move their cap up from 18 to 20 players and said the two new additions should either be from the domestic circuit or a combination of domestic and foreign.

The decision was taken after the PSL franchises had requested the PCB to increase team players, given the uncertainty due to the current coronavirus situation, sources said.