Pakistan team are better off in England than at home: Michael Holding

West Indies’ legendary cricketer Michael Holding has claimed that the Pakistan team would be better off in England rather than their actual home because of the ongoing novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The 66-year-old claimed that England was safer than Pakistan as they were set to relax restrictions in the near future.

“Well, it would seem that England are safer than whatever is happening in Pakistan right now. As of the fourth of July England are set to have relaxations in their restrictions. They will be reducing the six feet apart rule that was being insisted on, bringing it down to three feet or one meter apart. Things are getting a little bit easier there,” said Holding on his YouTube channel, Mikey holding nothing back.

“They are perhaps better off coming to England as opposed to staying in Pakistan because it is even worse there. Once they get to England, they will be in a bio-secure area. Once they arrive they will have to do their two weeks of quarantine as I am doing at the moment. They will be moved to a bio-secure area to make sure they are not infected. They should be ok from there on,” he added.

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The former pacer further claimed that it should be the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the people in England that should have a problem with the Pakistan team arriving on their shores than the other way around.

“If anyone should say that the tour should not go ahead, it should be the ECB or the people here in England because Pakistan is among the top countries in terms of positive tests,” he said.

“I don’t think there is much chance of getting it once they get here as we have seen with the West Indies team. They haven’t had any problems since they arrive. If anyone had the virus it would have shown up by now. So people that think the Pakistan team should not come here are probably thinking more about the England team rather than their own,” he further stated.

Meanwhile, following the announcement on Monday that three players had tested positive for Covid-19, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed that a further seven players and a player support personnel from a total of 35 have tested positive for Covid-19. The PCB had organised these 35 tests in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar on Monday.

The players and player support personnel, who have tested negative, will assemble in a bio-secure environment in Lahore on June 24 and will undergo a second round of testing on June 25.

Those, who will test negative on June 25, will depart for Manchester on a chartered flight. Within 24 hours after arriving in the UK, they will be tested by the ECB medical panel.