Five reserve players, 11 support staff undergo Covid-19 test.

Byline: Mohammad Yaqoob

LAHORE -- The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that 23 cricketers, including five reserves and 11 members of the support staff of Pakistan's England-bound cricket squad underwent the Covid-19 tests at a local hotel here on Thursday.

Among the players, 18 are those who have already been cleared in the first batch whose tests were held at their respective cities on Sunday and Monday. Meanwhile, those ten players who tested positive early this week will again appear for the tests on Friday.

Besides them, five reserve players namely Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Mohammad Nawaz, Musa Khan and new entrant Rohail Nazir appeared for the Covid-19 tests for the first time as they are being prepared as back-up of the 10 players who could not clear the tests on Tuesday.

Interestingly, the PCB only picked five reserves players as back up for the 10 players. The PCB has already announced a 29-member team for the England tour to play three Tests and three T20I matches against England, tentatively from August 5 to Sept 1. The squad is set to leave for England on June 28.

Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Mohammad Nawaz, Musa Khan and Rohail Nazir tested

It is learnt that the PCB medical team is in contact with local doctors as well as England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is keen to clarify whether the positive-tested...