In the first phase, players and other officials received the booster shot at the National High-Performance Centre (NHPC) on January 7.

Captain Babar Azam and Imamul Haq were vaccinated two days ago, while Shaheen Shah, Usman Qadir, Faheem Ashraf, Azhar Ali, and Naseem Shah were inoculated under the medical team’s supervision.

The decision to have the men's team jabbed comes after the women's squad and its support staff received their third dosage.

Concerns over coronavirus have increased as new variant Omicron has rapidly spread throughout Pakistan, prompting Government officials to advise citizens to get vaccinated and wear masks as often as possible.

The coming year is set to be an important one for Pakistani cricket as the country is scheduled to host several key matches with the likes of Australia, New Zealand and England all due to travel to the Asian country in 2022.

The PCB is determined to ensure that these fixtures can go ahead without any coronavirus-induced difficulty hence the decision to conduct the vaccination programme.

It is also in line with entry restrictions for other countries.

Australia is enforcing strict border regulations and is likely to ensure that access is only granted to those with a booster.

Pakistani players are currently preparing for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 season, which begins on January 27.

The PCB has created new Standard Operating Procedures to safeguard the safety of the players and officials during the event.

The previous edition of the PSL was postponed midway through the season in March as Pakistan was heavily impacted by a second wave of COVID-19.