20-Man Pakistan Squad Depart For England Tour

Pakistan cricket team departed for England in the early hours on Sunday. A 20-player squad along with 11 support staffs left for England, following the reports of at least five of their 10 players tested negative for COVID-19. England will host Pakistan for the Test and T20I series in a specially arranged bio-secure environment to withstand the COVID-19 effect.

On Saturday, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan were tested negative for COVID-19. The Pakistan board had earlier planned to send a 29-man squad to England but after the numbers were cut short due to the COVID-19 effect, the team has sent a reduced number of players.

Rules for Pakistan team on their arrival to Manchester

After their arrival to Manchester, the squad will be transported to Worcestershire where they will undergo testing. The visitors will then be isolated for 14 days, during which they will be allowed to train.

The side will move to Derbyshire on July 13 to prepare for their three-test and three T20 international series against the home side in August-September. The Pakistan Cricket Board has shared a video of their members boarding the flight on the official Facebook page while limited-overs captain Babar Azam shared a picture from the chartered flight.

“On our way to another historic Pakistan tour to England. Its always great to play in England and I look forward to get on this journey with our talented bunch of players. Fans, as always we would be in need of you prayers, love and unconditional support,” Babar Azam tweeted.

On our way to another historic Pakistan tour to England. Its always great to play in England and I look forward to get on this journey with our talented bunch of players. Fans, as always we would be in need of you prayers, love and unconditional support. #PAKvENG #RiseAndRise pic.twitter.com/8KLFQjAYNU

— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) June 28, 2020

English cricket board had earlier maintained that the series will go ahead as per scheduled but the players who have been tested positive will not be allowed to participate, due to safety concerns.

Pakistan will tour England for a Test and T20I series, which will get underway from July 30 with the T20I series concluding in the first week of September.

The tour will mark return for Pakistan cricket in international arena after the brief hiatus due to the pandemic.

Following is the list of 20-man that have traveled to Pakistan:

20 players to travel to England on Sunday. More details to follow shortly. pic.twitter.com/p9PPRWGd95

— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) June 27, 2020