Families won't accompany players, officials during England tour: PCB
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will not allow families of players and officials to travel alongside the contingent in the impending England tour. Reportedly, the step has been taken as a part of precautionary measures in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. England will host Pakistan for three Tests and as many T20Is in July, under bio-secure environment. Here is more.
Players can't meet family members personally till the tour's completion
"The board has made it clear to players their families can't travel and also explained to them it would be of no use even if their families stayed separately. The entire squad can't meet the families until the tour is completed," a source confirmed.
The touring party will spend 14 days in quarantine
Pakistan's entire touring party is required to spend 14 days in quarantine prior to the Test series. It has been learned that the English Cricket Board (ECB) will spend nearly half a million pounds on the special chartered flight. The flight will carry 29 players and 14 officials from Pakistan to England at the end of this month.
The reason why Haris Sohail pulled out of the tour
Previously, Pakistan batsman Haris Sohail had pulled out of the tour due to personal reasons. During the 2015 WC, the 31-year-old claimed to have spotted a ghost in a hotel room. As a result, PCB allowed Sohail's wife to accompany him on every foreign tour as he was not comfortable travelling or staying alone. However, he was compelled to travel alone, this time around.
Players will quarantine in Birmingham
The players will spend the quarantine period in Birmingham before moving to Manchester. "The board has told the players that as soon as they reach England they will spend around 14 days in quarantine in Birmingham before they move on to Manchester after staying in isolation and in a bio-secure environment for around three to four weeks for their practice and training," he added.
Pakistan announced 29-member squad for England tour
Last week, Pakistan named a 29-member squad for the upcoming England tour. The squad is for both Tests and T20Is, while the selectors will categorize the players after reaching England. PCB also named four players as reserves, in case any of the players fail pre-tour COVID-19 testing. Meanwhile, the Test series is expected to begin on July 30.
Here is Pakistan's full squad for England tour
Squad: Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (C), Babar Azam (C), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan, and Yasir Shah.
