Second group of 6 Pakistan players to leave for England on Friday

Lahore, July 1: The second group of six Pakistan cricketers will depart for Manchester on Friday by the national carrier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) informed on Wednesday.

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 players were retested on June 29, following a first negative test on June 26.

From Manchester, the six players will be transported to Worcester and will integrate with the side after they test negative in the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) testing program.

A total of 10 Pakistani players were originally found coronavirus-positive before the team left for England on Sunday.

Of these, Hafeez claimed that he had tested negative after he got himself tested at a private facility, a day after the first PCB informed that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.

Pakistan are slated to take on England in three Tests and as many T20Is, the schedule of which has not been announced by ECB.

The tour was originally slated to begin from July 30 but due to the implications put forward by coronavirus pandemic, the series will now be played in August and September.

The much-anticipated clash will be preceded by England and the West Indies locking horns in a three-Test series, starting July 8, and it will mark the resumption of cricket after it was halted in March due to the COVID-19 crisis.