Pakistan to fly to England without ten COVID-positive players

A squad of 20 Pakistani players will travel for the tour of England after ten players tested positive for the coronavirus in the latest tests.

Pakistan will play three Tests and three T20Is in England.

Ten players from Pakistan's squad will not travel to England for the upcoming series after testing positive for coronavirus for a second time, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Saturday.

The board chief executive Wasim Khan said the players can rejoin the squad of 18 players if they later test negative.

After first testing positive this week, follow-up tests were given to Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain and Kashif Bhatti. Test wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan is also among the ten who tested positive.

Pakistan is set to play three Tests and three Twenty20 internationals in England.

The squad will have a 14-day isolation period on arrival before continuing their preparations ahead of the first Test with two internal four-day warm-up matches.

The first Test is expected to be played in August in Manchester in August but the England and Wales Cricket Board said the behind-closed-doors match schedule would be announced in “due course”.

Pakistan is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, with nearly 200,000 declared cases and more than 4,000 deaths.