Wasim Khan on the Pakistan players: “This is a matter of their lives. Whoever is ready will definitely go”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan has revealed that the national players will be allowed to choose whether they want to tour England or not.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and three T20 Internationals against England from July 30 to September 2.
However, reports emerged that they could play five Tests instead if the West Indies scrap their tour.
The men from the Caribbean were supposed to tour England for three Tests from June 4 to 29, but it has already been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
But, further reports stated that if Pakistan extend their stay in England this summer, the PCB want England to play at least some matches in Pakistan when they tour at the end of 2021.
With the COVID-19 situation still pretty bad in England, Wasim noted that none of the Pakistan players will be forced to tour the country.
“This is a matter of their lives. Whoever is ready will definitely go. We will form a policy after discussing matters with high officials and the head coach Misbah-ul-Haq. The safety of our players is our priority,” Wasim told the Daily Express as quoted by Cricket Pakistan. “The PCB gets insurance for all players before a tour and the ECB will do the same. The insurance covers injuries and diseases. We will get a clearer picture of it once we have a detailed discussion with the ECB.”
Wasim also confirmed that Pakistan won’t play any practice matches, but will send enough players to “make up two teams so that we can practice”.
“We will not be able to play warm-up matches due to the coronavirus outbreak. We will, however, send players that make up two teams so that we can practice,” he said. “We have not yet thought about playing two teams simultaneously because we do not have a packed schedule with our next tour being in November.”
Misbah wants the tour of England to go ahead, even if it is behind closed doors, while England captain Joe Root also expressed his desire to play Test cricket this summer.
Legendary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas shared the same view, saying the national team “should go and play because it will at least be good for their fitness and there will be some action”.
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