6 COVID-19 infected Pakistan Cricketers tested negative for the 2nd time, eligible to take part in England tour

Veteran Pakistan all rounder Mohammad Hafeez, legspinner Shadab Khan and left arm pacer Wahab Riaz have tested negative for COVID-19 for a second time in the last three days. Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman, speedster Mohammad Hasnain and keeper Mohammad Rizwan have also tested negative for the virus. All the players are currently in isolation at a five-star hotel in Lahore.

Now that the group of six cricketers have tested negative for the virus, they’ll now be eligible to fly out to the UK and join the 20 man squad in Worcester ahead of next month’s series against England.

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Currently, the 18 players who returned two negatives as well as two reserve players, fast bowler Musa Khan and wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir, are part of the group of 20 who flew to Manchester on a chartered plane organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The tour group also consists of 11 support-staff members. While head coach Misbah-ul-Haq flew with the squad from Lahore, bowling coach Waqar Younis and physiotherapist Cliff Deacon arrived in England from Australia and South Africa respectively.

Kashif Bhatti, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali and Imran Khan are the Pakistan Cricketers have tested positive, but are believed to be asymptomatic and are in isolation. They will be tested again in a few days, with players needing to return two negative tests to become eligible for selection.

Team masseur Malang Ali has also tested positive twice while his back-up Mohammad Imran has tested positive once. Both will remain in Pakistan to finish another round of testing. The group that reached England late last week also underwent a fresh round of testing on Monday, and are awaiting their test results.

The tour comprises three Test matches and three T20Is in August and September. All six games will be played behind closed doors.