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Picture Credit: Twitter

Cricket and the tournaments have finally returned to the stadiums for the fans after a long gap owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The West Indies squad are currently in Pakistan for their the T20I series, which will be followed by three ODIs. Unfortunately, Roston Chase, Kyle Mayers and Sheldon Cottrell had already returned positive tests five days ago. Now, it is being learnt that five more members of the West Indies cricket squad- including three players- have tested positive for Covid.

As a result, all five individuals will remain isolated from the rest of the West Indies squad. Notably, wicket keeper batsman Shai Hope, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, all-rounder Justin Greaves; along with assistant coach Roddy Estwick and team physician Dr Akshai Mansingh have tested positive. They will undergo a period of self-isolation for a period of 10 days until they get a negative result.

This news has come as a big blow to the West Indies squad, who already have some key players missing. Devon Thomas missed out on the first game owing to a finger injury. With a total of six players now ruled out of the ongoing tour due to COVID-19, a meeting between Cricket West Indies and the Pakistan Cricket Board is scheduled to take place today and officials will make a decision whether the matches can continue or not. All members of the touring party will also undergo another round of testing.

Check out the official statement here:

Months after COVID-19 restrictions were uplifted and the security situation in Pakistan got better, the 2nd T20I match against West Indies at Karachi National Stadium saw just 4,000 spectators in the stands. A PCB official called it "incredibly sad" after a full capacity of 32,000 was allowed for the match. Former captains Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi have urged Pakistan cricket fans to watch the match from the stadium.

Pakistan took a 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. The hosts won the first and second T20I by 63 runs and nine runs respectively.