Second group of COVID-negative Pakistan players to depart for UK on Friday

Karachi: Six Pakistani cricketers, who became eligible to join the squad in England after testing negative for COVID-19 following two tests, will leave for Manchester on Friday.

Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, and Wahab Riaz, who was found to be COVID-19 positive ahead of the team’s departure last week, tested negative in the latest round of testing conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

“The second group of six Pakistan cricketers will depart for Manchester on Friday, 3 July, by the national carrier. The players who will travel by the Pakistan International Airlines are Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, and Wahab Riaz,” the PCB said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

The cricket board further stated that from Manchester, all the six players will be transported to Worcester and will integrate with the squad after they test negative in England and Wales Cricket Board’s testing program.

Of these, Hafeez created quite a stir when he got himself tested at a private facility, which found him negative just a day after the first PCB test put him in the infected list.

Spinner Kashif Bhatti, pacers Haris Rauf and Imran Khan and batsman Haider Ali still remain in quarantine. In all, 10 Pakistani players were found coronavirus-positive before the team left for England on Saturday.

Pakistan will take on England in a three-Test and three T20 International series in August. The PCB has allowed senior batsman Shoaib Malik to join the squad in England in late July, granting him a break to spend time with his family in UAE.