10 Players From Pakistan Have Been Tested Positive For COVID 19:
After 10 players tested positive for Covid-19, the PCB came under extreme pressure to determine whether to send their team to England or not, but ultimately went ahead with the tour to help revive the game despite the pandemic, CEO Wasim Khan has said.
Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, and Kashif Bhatti were amongst those who tested positive in the first round of pre-tour tests. Any of those players later passed a second or later test and joined the rest of the England squad.
Pakistan will be playing a tri-match Test series against England beginning August 5, followed by three T20Is.
“The board was under pressure because the tests of so many players were positive, so sending the cricket team to England during the coronavirus pandemic was a very difficult decision,” Wasim Khan was quoted by Pakistani channel as saying. “We kept our decision to continue the tour because we wanted to send the team in the first place to play our important role in restoring world cricket, and to keep it on track it is crucial to continue matches.” Khan also said, “Cricket and Covid-19 will coexist.”
He said the PCB also took into account that amid the uncertainty West Indies continued their tour of England.
“If we are questioned about our decision to go on tour to England, the West Indies cricket team should also be asked the same question, which has also continued with scheduled matches,” he said. “West Indies wanted to go to England [because of the pandemic] because the situation became worse over there.”
