Mumbai: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed that seven more players, including Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, have tested positive for coronavirus.
Apart from this, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hasnain and Mohammad Rizwan are the other players who have been detected with the virus.
With seven new cases, the total number of Pakistani cricketers contracting COVID-19 has reached 10. Earlier, Hyder Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan tested positive for coronovirus.
In addition to the above players, a player support personnel, Malang Ali, has also tested positive for the virus.
“Yesterday after the announcement that three players had tested positive for COVID-19, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday that a total of seven players and one player out of a total of 35 player support personnel for COVID-19 Has tested positive. The PCB had organised these 35 tests in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar on Monday,” PCB said in a statement.
Players who have tested negative are Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, and Yasir Shah.
Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and batting coach Younis Khan have also been tested negatively. Shoaib Malik, Cliff Deacon, and Waqar Younis are yet to be tested for coronovirus.
The statement added, “None of the seven players, like Hyder, Haris and Shadab, reported any further symptoms of coronovirus until they underwent the first round of testing on Monday ahead of the side’s departure for Manchester.”
The PCB medical panel is already in contact with these players and masseurs who have been instructed to inspect strict quarantines in their homes.
The PCB said that players and player support personnel, who have tested negative, will assemble on June 24 in a bio-safe environment in Lahore and undergo a second round of testing the next day.
Players and player support personnel, who will undergo a negative test on 25 June, depart for Manchester. They will be tested by the ECB Medical Panel, within 24 hours of arriving in the UK. Players and player support personnel, who will test negative when they arrive in the UK, will follow a quarantine period according to UK government regulations but will be allowed to train and practice in a bio-safe facility.
After testing negative, they will be allowed to integrate with the Pakistan Men’s National Squad.
According to the series SOP, the Pakistan men’s national cricket team will undergo at least five Tests, leading the first Test.
PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said the tour of England was very much on track and the team would leave on 28 June.
“The England tour is very much on track and the side will depart as scheduled on June 28. Fortunately, all first-choice red-ball squads, except Mohammad Rizwan, are negative, meaning they can start training immediately and practising immediately after they have been tested and given the all-clear when they arrive in England,” Khan said in a statement.
“In the meantime, Misbah-ul-Haq is reviewing the training schedule in England and is firming up plans for reserve players to be tested as a backup,” he added.
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