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Seven more Pakistan squad cricketers test positive for Covid-19
Ali Martin
@Cricket_Ali
Email
Tue 23 Jun 2020 10.07 EDTFirst published on Tue 23 Jun 2020 08.08 EDT
Pakistan’s Haris Rauf (second left) is one of the three Pakistan players to test positive for coronavirus. Photograph: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan insist this summer’s tour of England is “very much on track” despite more than a third of their playing squad having tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement on Tuesday the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that seven players and one member of the support staff were shown to have the virus asymptomatically, on top of the three players who tested positive on Monday.
All but one member of a 29-strong touring party to cover a three-Test series in August – and three Twenty20s that follow – had been due to depart Lahore this Sunday and travel to Manchester on a charter flight paid for by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
This number will now be reduced significantly after Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz, as well as masseur Malang Ali, joined Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan in needing to isolate at home for 14 days.
Crucially only wicketkeeper Rizwan is considered a contender for the red-ball side, with the PCB hopeful that the absentees, once clear, can travel to the UK at a later date via commercial flights. The 29th member of the squad, Shoaib Malik – part of the white-ball side – had already been permitted to join late after being separated from his family for five months.
As such, the board is confident it can still send an advanced party to begin preparations for the proposed first Test on 5 August at Old Trafford; a boon for the ECB given each five-day match is worth an estimated £20m in broadcast revenues.
Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, said: “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
“In the meantime, [head coach] Misbah-ul-Haq is reviewing the training schedule in England and is firming up plans for reserve players to be tested as a backup.”
The PCB will continue to conduct additional coronavirus testing for the tour party once it has assembled in Lahore on Wednesday, with further checks by the ECB’s medical team due to take place upon the squad’s arrival.
Speaking before the latest positive test results, Ashley Giles, the England director of cricket, said: “At the moment, I don’t think the tour is in doubt. We are far enough away from the start of the Test series not to worry too much at the moment. We’re still hopeful the Pakistan team will be arriving in the country fairly soon.
“But this is the difference with the international sport – we need to get our opposition into the country. Anything that puts that at risk or in danger is clearly a problem.
“There are far more important things than sport but we’re hopeful that, if we can get international sport played, it will be a fillip for many people around the world.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...will-travel-to-england-despite-positive-tests
- PCB chief Wasim Khan insists England tour is ‘on track’
- Total of 10 players from 29-strong squad have tested positive
Ali Martin
@Cricket_Ali
Tue 23 Jun 2020 10.07 EDTFirst published on Tue 23 Jun 2020 08.08 EDT
Pakistan’s Haris Rauf (second left) is one of the three Pakistan players to test positive for coronavirus. Photograph: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan insist this summer’s tour of England is “very much on track” despite more than a third of their playing squad having tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement on Tuesday the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that seven players and one member of the support staff were shown to have the virus asymptomatically, on top of the three players who tested positive on Monday.
All but one member of a 29-strong touring party to cover a three-Test series in August – and three Twenty20s that follow – had been due to depart Lahore this Sunday and travel to Manchester on a charter flight paid for by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
This number will now be reduced significantly after Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz, as well as masseur Malang Ali, joined Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan in needing to isolate at home for 14 days.
Crucially only wicketkeeper Rizwan is considered a contender for the red-ball side, with the PCB hopeful that the absentees, once clear, can travel to the UK at a later date via commercial flights. The 29th member of the squad, Shoaib Malik – part of the white-ball side – had already been permitted to join late after being separated from his family for five months.
As such, the board is confident it can still send an advanced party to begin preparations for the proposed first Test on 5 August at Old Trafford; a boon for the ECB given each five-day match is worth an estimated £20m in broadcast revenues.
Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, said: “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
“In the meantime, [head coach] Misbah-ul-Haq is reviewing the training schedule in England and is firming up plans for reserve players to be tested as a backup.”
The PCB will continue to conduct additional coronavirus testing for the tour party once it has assembled in Lahore on Wednesday, with further checks by the ECB’s medical team due to take place upon the squad’s arrival.
Speaking before the latest positive test results, Ashley Giles, the England director of cricket, said: “At the moment, I don’t think the tour is in doubt. We are far enough away from the start of the Test series not to worry too much at the moment. We’re still hopeful the Pakistan team will be arriving in the country fairly soon.
“But this is the difference with the international sport – we need to get our opposition into the country. Anything that puts that at risk or in danger is clearly a problem.
“There are far more important things than sport but we’re hopeful that, if we can get international sport played, it will be a fillip for many people around the world.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...will-travel-to-england-despite-positive-tests
