Misbah-ul-Haq says 'protocol breaches were unintentional' post New Zealand govt's warning

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq feels his players were "unlucky" to have contracted the coronavirus during their stay in Christchurch and said that the quarantine protocol breaches were "unintentional". Seven members of the Pakistan squad tested positive for COVID-19 after their arrival in New Zealand on November 24. Meanwhile, the visiting team has been given a final warning by the New Zealand government after some of its players had breached the quarantine protocols. 

'The breaches were unintentional': Misbah-ul-Haq

"The breaches were unintentional in the first day and it happened moving luggage here and there. It was a weird situation and New Zealand clarified afterward that Pakistan had followed protocols but never the less the main point is we couldn't practice due to the positive results those 14 days," said Misbah during a virtual press conference on Friday.

"Now we are out of quarantine and trying to make up for the time lost. It's tough to do a work of three weeks in seven days but we are trying to give our best. Want to be in the best shape before December 18 in Auckland," he added.

Nonetheless, the former Pakistan skipper also went on to add that they respect the strict rules in New Zealand with regards to COVID-19 and then mentioned that they have to make amends for the lost time as they are back on the field.

"Due to COVID, rules are very strict in New Zealand and we respect that. And now we have moved out of quarantine after spending 14 days in isolation. We were not able to practice in the last 14 days. "I think we were a bit unlucky in this regard that we couldn't practice after three days and lost a lot of time due to coronavirus cases but now we are back on the field," the coach-cum-chief selector further added.

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Pakistan tour of New Zealand 

Batting sensation Babar Azam will be leading the 1992 World Cup winners in all the three formats while wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan will be his Test deputy and bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan will be the vice-captain in the shortest format. Azam had replaced Azhar Ali who was Pakistan's captain in red-ball cricket.

Pakistan will be visiting New Zealand for a three-match T20I series that will be followed by a two-match Test series between 18 December 2020 to 7 January 2021. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship.

(With ANI Inputs)

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(Image Courtesy: AP)