ISLAMABAD: Former captain and wicket-keeper-batsman Rashid Latif has come down hard on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and national cricketers for not observing Standard Oper­ating Procedures (SOPs) for the Covid-19 pandemic and paying the penalty for it in shape of positive tests of players.

Rashid’s criticism came after 10 members of Pakistan’s England-bound squad tested positive for Covid-19 this week.

In a video on YouTube, Rashid said the players who tested positive were practicing without following safety guidelines when he visited the venue.

“Players who have tested positive have been practicing outside together, hence there was bound to be a problem,” he said.

According to Rashid, unprofessional approach of PCB and those of players was to be blamed for the positive cases.

“I also went to the ground for a day but I maintained safe distance from Rohail Nazir and others. You have to follow the SOPs and keep distance otherwise this will happen,” he remarked while referring to positive tests. The cricketers, who contracted the virus include Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz.

The former wicketkeeper said that the PCB’s selection committee would have to look over the replacements of affected players.

“The selection committee must start looking for replacements. But these replacements have to be tested as well,” he emphasised.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2020