Pakistan To Leave For England Tour On Sunday Without Covid-19 Positive Players

In a media release on Saturday, PCB confirmed 20 players and 11 player support personnel will travel to Manchester on Sunday morning for a three-Test and three T20I series to be played in August and September.

Photo: AFP

Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had recently revealed that ten of their players in the 29-member squad and one support staff member, for England tour tested positive for the deadly Covid-19. In a media release on Saturday, PCB confirmed 20 players and 11 player support personnel will travel to Manchester on Sunday morning for a three-Test and three T20I series to be played in August and September. ALSO WATCH | Inzamam-ul-Haq Slams PCB Medical Staff For Ignoring 'Calls From Players' PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said the players can rejoin the squad if they later test negative. Players Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain and Kashif Bhatti first tested positive earlier this week. Follow-up tests found Bhatti, Rauf, Ali and Khan were still positive. Out of the 10 players and one official, who had earlier tested positive during the PCB testing programme, six players have tested negative in the retests. They are: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz. Players who have again tested positive are: Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Kashif Bhatti and Imran Khan, along with Malang Ali (masseur). Upon arrival in Manchester, the squad will be transported to Worcestershire where they will undergo the England and Wales Cricket Board testing before completing their 14-day isolation period, during which they will be allowed to train and practice. PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “I am pleased that following the second round of testing, we are able to confirm 20 players and 11 player support personnel will travel to Manchester on Sunday. “I am aware Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz took personal tests outside of our process prior to the second PCB testing. While their results came up negative, as per the PCB testing programme, they are deemed to have one negative test following a positive test. Therefore, once they are retested and receive a second negative result under the PCB testing programme, they will be available to join the squad in England. Players – Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah. Zafar Gohar, the left-arm spinner who played an ODI in 2015, will join the side from England and will only be involved in pre-match preparations. ALSO WATCH | Sreesanth to make comeback after 7 years