Seven more Pakistan players test positive for COVID-19; PCB confirms England tour to go ahead

Late on Monday, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf were tested positive for Coronavirus while the results of the other players were yet to come. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that seven more players contracted the virus and didn’t have any prior symptoms. Apart from them one player support personnel Malang Ali who is a masseur of the team has also been tested positive.

The seven players who were tested positive for COVID-19 are – Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz. The PCB’s medical panel is in contact with these players. They have been advised to stay in home quarantine for the well being of their and their families.

Meanwhile, the PCB has confirmed that the tour will be going ahead and even the players who are tested positive can still travel to England later. For the cricketers who have cleared the Coroanvirus test, they will assemble in Lahore on June 24 now in a bio-secure environment and will be tested again the following day before the team travels to Manchester on June 28.

COVID-19 positive players will be tested after home quarantine period

The 10 players and the support personnel whose tour is in trouble will have undergo a minimum quarantine period after which they will be tested twice. If their results come negative, then they will be allowed to tour England where again the ECB authorities will test them. Overall, Pakistan players will undergo COVID-19 tests five times in the lead up to the first Test of the three-match series.

“The recent positive tests of some of the fittest athletes, who had not shown any symptoms, clearly reflect the danger this virus possesses. As such, and on behalf of the PCB, I once again request the public to strictly adhere to all safety precautions as advised and recommended by the federal and provincial governments to ensure their health and safety as well as of their dear and near ones.

“As regards the players, who have tested positive, we will continue to monitor and support them, including conducting antibody tests, and as soon as they test negative, they will be flown to join the squad in England. At the moment, they have been advised to go into self-isolation so that they not only recover quickly but also prevent their other family members from being infected.

“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 practicing immediately  after they have been tested and given the all clear when they arrive in England

“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,” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said according to the PCB Press Release.

Here are more details about the COVID-19 Tests:

Players who have tested positive are: Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan.

Player 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, Yasir Shah, Imad Wasim, Usman Shinwari

Player Support Personnel, who has tested positive, is: Malang Ali (masseur)

Player Support Personnel who have tested negative are: Mansoor Rana (manager), Misbah-ul-Haq (head coach), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Younis Khan (batting coach), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Talha Butt (team analyst), Yasir Malik (strength and conditioning coach), Dr Sohail Saleem (team doctor), Lt Col (retd) Usman Riffat (security manager) and Raza Kitchlew (media and digital content manager).

Not tested to date: Shoaib Malik, Cliffe Deacon and Waqar Younis