Pakistan will leave for their tour of England on Sunday with 20 players and 11 support staff, the PCB said on Saturday, even as seven out of the 10 coronavirus-infected cricketers returned negative when they were tested the second time.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said the team will be departing for Manchester.
PCB chief executive Wasim Khan told reporters that fast bowler Musa Khan and wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir who were among the reserve players had also tested negative and would be leaving with the team.
Khan made it clear that the 10 players who had earlier tested positive would be sent to England only after two of their successive tests return negative.
Out of the 10 players and one official, who had earlier tested positive during the PCB testing programme, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz have teste
Khan reiterated that the six players who have now tested negative will undergo a third round of testing at some stage next week and if they return negative, then the PCB will make arrangements to send them to England.
“I am aware Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz took personal tests outside of our process prior to the second PCB testing. While their results came negative, as per the PCB testing programme, they are deemed to have one negative test following a positive test.
“Therefore, once they are retested and receive a second negative result under the PCB testing programme, they will be available to join the squad in England,” Khan said.
The chief executive said upon arrival in Manchester, the squad will be transported to Worcestershire where they will undergo the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) testing before embarking on a 14-day isolation, during which they will be allowed to train.
The players leaving on Sunday are Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah.
