Rohail Nazir added as backup wicketkeeper ahead of England tour

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today confirmed five reserve players and a backup player support personnel have undergone novel coronavirus (Covid-19) tests.

The five players who were tested are Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Mohammad Nawaz, Musa Khan and Rohail Nazir along with masseur Mohammad Imran.

Bilal, Imran, Nawaz and Musa were originally named as reserve players on June 12 when the 29-player squad was announced, while Rohail has been added as a backup wicketkeeper.

On Thursday, 18 players and 11 player support personnel underwent second round of tests, while the 10 players and one player support personnel, who had tested positive earlier in the week, will be retested on Friday.

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The PCB will announce outcomes of all tests on Saturday and until then will not make any further comment.

According to sources, the decision to retest players was taken after veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez tested negative, who had been diagnosed with Covid-19, during a subsequent test at a local laboratory in Lahore.

Although the PCB is not happy with the fact that Hafeez released the result of his second Covid-19 test, without informing the board officials first.

Pakistan will depart for England on June 28 from Lahore to Manchester through a chartered flight.

According to the tentative schedule, the first Test will be played on August 5 in Manchester. Pakistan will play the remaining two games in Southampton, starting on August 13 and 21 respectively.

Pakistan will also play three Twenty20 internationals in Southampton on August 29, 31 and September 2.