Three Pakistan cricketers selected for the tour of England have tested positive for COVID-19.
Uncapped middle-order batsman Haider Ali, fast bowler Haris Rauf and leg-spinner Shadab Khan are to go into self-isolation, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Monday.
The players showed no symptoms until they were tested on Sunday at Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
All-rounder Imad Wasim and fast bowler Usman Shinwari tested negative and are today to travel to Lahore, where Pakistan is to assemble before traveling to England on Sunday.
More COVID-19 tests were conducted on Monday at Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, and the PCB said that those results would be available yesterday.
Pakistan named an extended squad of 29 players for three Test matches and three Twenty20s in England from August.
A PCB medical official said that the tour was a “big risk,” but necessary to help the country get through the crisis.
“During the pandemic it’s a big risk,” PCB director of medical and sports sciences Sohail Saleem said on Monday. “We haven’t experienced [playing during a pandemic], but for both teams, it will be a first. The pandemic means risk, but consider them [players] as ... providing people entertainment.”
Saleem said that he was encouraged by soccer resuming in Europe, where the Bundesliga in Germany and the Premier League in England have restarted in empty stadiums.
“There’s no crowd in football and there will be no spectators at cricket stadiums, too,” he said. “The anxiety level of people sitting at home is rising, but cricket can be seen as lowering these.”
All 29 players are to be tested twice for COVID-19 before they board the flight to London.
Once the players land in the UK, Saleem said that they would go through another testing session before they start training in quarantine.
“After every 5 to 7 days, we will be carrying out testing of the players in the UK,” Saleem said. “Three days before the start of the first Test another round of testing of all the players will be done and if a player tests positive, he will be quarantined. We have set the protocol with the England and Wales Cricket Board.”
Pakistan cricketers have not played any competitive games since March 17 due to the pandemic.
The PCB had to postpone the training camp in Lahore due to a rise of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, so the team would depart earlier than planned, Saleem said.
“We had a meeting with the head coach about how much time he needed [to get the players ready] and he said at least five to six weeks... It was not possible in Pakistan, but the ECB provided us the maximum time to train in a biosecured environment,” he added.
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