Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that fast bowler Mohammad Amir will join the Pakistan squad in England after all, despite making himself unavailable for it. Amir had pulled out because the dates clashed with the birth of his second child and he was concerned about traveling in that period.
But an earlier than expected birth of his child meant that Amir is now able to play in the T20Is against England. He is expected to now join the squad but will need to test negative for Covid-19 twice before departing for England. He was tested on Monday and will be tested again in two days' time.
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The first T20I is scheduled for August 28 in Manchester.
Amir announced the birth of his child on July 17 on social media, allowing chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq to recall him in place of Haris Rauf. Rauf had undergone six Covid-19 tests since the last month, out of which five have returned positive.
An additional wicket-keeper, Rohail Nazir, will return home, leaving Mohammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed as the primary options ahead of the Test and T20 series. The PCB will also send an additional masseur Mohammad Imran to ease the workload of the team's regular masseur Malang Ali who, also tested positive twice before finally being cleared to travel earlier this month.
On the other hand, Shoaib Malik, who was scheduled to join the side later this week, has now seen that date pushed back to the second week of August. Malik, who is only available for the T20I leg, was allowed to join up late after being given special dispensation to spend time with his family in the UAE.
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However his wife Sania Mirza is in India and the country has extended a ban on international flights put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic to July 31, meaning Mirza will not be able to leave until after that date.
The touring party is living in a "bubble" where they will not interact with anyone outside of the group, and regular tests for Covid-19 will be conducted on the tour. The three Tests and three T20Is will all be played behind closed doors.
