Three Pakistan players test positive for Covid-19 ahead of England tour

Batsman Haider Ali, seamer Haris Rauf and leg-spinner Shadab Khan were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday and returned positive tests, despite displaying no symptoms beforehand

Three members of the squad named by Pakistan to take on England in August have tested positive for Covid-19.

Batsman Haider Ali, seamer Haris Rauf and leg-spinner Shadab Khan were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday and returned positive tests, despite displaying no symptoms beforehand.

The trio have gone into self-isolation. Imad Wasim and Usman Shinwari, both of whom were also screened in Rawalpindi, came back with negative results and so will travel to Lahore as planned on June 24, with further tests for the squad planned for June 25 ahead of the tour.

Players and officials, other than Cliffe Deacon, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis, all underwent their tests in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar on Monday, with their results anticipated on Tuesday.

Ali was one of two uncapped players named in the initial enlarged 29-man group. The Pakistan Under-19 batsman represented Peshawar Zalmi in this year’s Pakistan Super League.

In early June, four reserves were announced for the trip, with Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz named as back-up in the event of players returning positive coronavirus tests.

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