I saw a lot of the players and officials were mixing: Overseas player shares details of PSL 2021 bio-bubble
An unnamed foreign player participating in PSL 2021 has disclosed some surprising details about the tournament's bio-bubble.
The overseas source stated that players and officials from all the teams were interacting while having breakfast. The security staff could not differentiate the players and officials in the bio-bubble from the general public.
In an interview with PakPassion.net, an unnamed foreign star of PSL 2021 also stated that even though he always adhered to the COVID-19 protocols during the tournament, others did not follow the rules in the same way.
"I only went downstairs for breakfast once and I saw that a lot of the players and officials from the teams were mixing and I didn’t feel comfortable with that at all. After seeing what was going on, I thought to myself, ‘Never again,’ and I didn’t go downstairs in the future for breakfast. I just ordered it to my room," the player said anonymously.
The Pakistan Cricket Board decided to stage the PSL 2021 fixtures only in Karachi and Lahore. The PCB had previously held international matches inside bio-bubbles successfully in Pakistan.
However, there were frequent bio-bubble breaches during PSL 2021, which led to multiple players and officials contracting the COVID-19 virus. Ultimately, the organizers had to postpone the tournament.
The security couldn’t differentiate between people involved in PSL 2021 and members of the public
The unnamed player further stated the security team tried their best to keep an eye on players. However, as there were no restrictions on the general public, the overseas cricketer believed it was challenging for the security personnel to recognize people who were staying within the bio-secure bubble.
According to the foreign player, the other cricketers clicked pictures with members of the general public, thinking they were a part of the bio-bubble group.
“The security personnel tried their best to spot the players and officials taking part in the PSL. They would try to make sure you were kept away from everyone else staying at the hotel. But that must have been extremely difficult for them because, obviously, they couldn’t recognise who was involved in the PSL and who were members of the public," said the foreign player.
"I guess this is why some players were caught out by people wanting to take pictures with them. The players probably thought they were part of the bubble and assumed that they were fine to take a picture with them," the player added.
The anonymous player clarified there was regular testing inside the bio-bubble during the PSL. Although there were many mistakes this year, the overseas name was confident the organizers would learn their lesson and have a stricter approach whenever PSL 2021 resumes.