Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has exempted Shoaib Malik from their rule and allowed him to meet his family who he hasn't seen for five months. They also talked to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to let Malik join the Pakistan team on July 24 and they agreed.

The rest of the Pakistan cricket squad will leave for England on June 28 to play three Tests and three Twenty20s internationals.

Shoaib was stuck in Pakistan, while his wife, Sania Mirza, and one-year-old son, Izhaan Mirza Malik, have been in India in the pandemic. Since international travel is banned, he couldn't meet them.

The Pakistan cricketer was playing Pakistan Super League for Peshawar Zalmi before the suspension of air travel. 

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“Unlike the rest of us, Shoaib Malik has not seen his immediate family for nearly five months due to his commitments and the subsequent international travel bans following the Covid-19 pandemic. As travel restrictions are now slowly easing out and there is an opportunity for a family reunion, it is appropriate that at a human level we show compassion as part of our duty of care and respect Shoaib’s request.

“We have spoken with the England and Wales Cricket Board who understand the situation and have agreed to make an exception by helping Shoaib enter the country on 24 July. Of course, Shoaib will follow the UK government’s policies on visitors entering the country before integrating with the side.”, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said.

The Pakistan cricket team will undergo a 14-day quarantine in Derbyshire.