Pakistan cricket team depart for England tour
Pakistan depart for England via chartered flight.
Pakistan's 20-man squad as well as 11 team officials on Sunday departed for England from Lahore via a chartered flight organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The Men in Green as well as team management will undergo a round of Covid-19 tests, conducted by the ECB, and will observe a two-week period of isolation.
Subsequently the team will leave for Derbyshire on July 13 where they will be getting in some practice.
Furthermore, bowling coach Waqar Younis and physiotherapist Cliff Deacon will join the team from Australia and South Africa respectively.
While speaking to media, limited-overs skipper Babar Azam said that the absence of fans will be felt.
"We're going to miss our fans. I got a lot of support when I played in Somerset last year," he said.
READ: No infected Pakistani players will be allowed on England-bound flight says ECB
Meanwhile, Test skipper Azhar Ali promised to give fans a memorable performance.
"Fans have always been the biggest stakeholder but since they will not be there, we'll be giving some great moments for fans to enjoy at home," he said.
Players that have tested positive missed the flight but will later join the side when they return two negative tests.
It is key to mention that some positive tests results returned negative after a retest. These players are Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan.
Meanwhile, Kashif Bhatti, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali and Imran Khan confirmed to have contracted the virus when their second test also returned positive.
Squad
Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah.
It is pertinent to mention that left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar will only be involved in the pre-match preparations.
Pakistan will play three Tests and three T20I against England.
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