The Pakistani cricket team set off on Sunday for their England tour. 20 players and 11 support staff have left Pakistan, and several other players have failed due to positive corona virus tests. Six of the ten coronavirus-infected cricketers gave a negative result on the second test, and they are given the opportunity to play the series if their third test is negative. The squad will land in Manchester and be transferred to Worcestershire, where it will go through a 14-day quarantine period and have to conduct organized tests by the Cricket Board (ECB) in England and Wales.
Before the series started, the Pakistani striker and former cricketer Younis Khan praised the fast-growing Pacer Jofra Archer. Younis has described Archer as a “major threat” before his team starts preparing for the upcoming series against England.
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“He (Archer) is a real match winner and a threat,” Younis told AFP.
“Archer has strong nerves, which he demonstrated by bowling a crucial super-over in the World Cup final.”
“He has a bite in bowling and his high-arm action is very good and gives him a sip in bowling. There is hype around him, so extra pressure can be put on him. I told the batsmen to play close to the body and to play on the back foot because its in-swinger can be very dangerous. “
Younis then remembered the time when he played Archer in a 2016 practice game against Sussex against Pakistan.
“I remember playing it in a side game. He had five gates in the match but wasn’t bowling like he was now, ”added Younis.
The team will move to Derbyshire on July 13 to prepare for their three test and three international T20 series against the home team from August to September.
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The players who left on Sunday were Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Abbas Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari and Yasir Shah. Zafar Gohar, the left-wing spinner who played an ODI in 2015, will come to England from the side and will only be involved in the pre-game preparations.
(with PTI inputs)
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