Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed that a further seven players and a player support personnel from 35 have tested positive for coronavirus. On Monday three players, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan have tested positive for coronavirus.
Players who have tested positive are Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz.
The PCB had organised these 35 tests in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar on Monday. Of the 29-player squad, 10 players have tested positive till now. Pakistan had also named four reserves in Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz as a cover in case any of the players fail pre-tour COVID-19 testing, which will be carried out on 20 and 25 June.
Pakistan team have to fly for England on June 28, which seems to on schedule according to PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan. Pakistan has to play three Tests and three T20Is against England in August September.
“The tour to England is very much on track and the side will depart as per schedule on 28 June. Fortunately, all the first-choice red-ball squad, barring Mohammad Rizwan, are negative, which means they can start training and practising immediately after they have been tested and given the all-clear when they arrive in England,” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said.
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. The players and player support personnel, who will test negative on June 25, will depart for Manchester on a chartered flight. Within 24 after hours after arriving in the UK, they will be tested by the ECB medical panel. The players and player support personnel, who will test negative upon arrival in the UK, will observe a quarantine period as per the UK government’s regulations but will be allowed to train and practice in a bio-secure facility.
