Mohammad Amir, Haris Sohail pull out of England tour

Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced that pacer Mohammad Amir and batsman Haris Sohail have pulled out of the upcoming England tour, citing personal reasons.

“Amir has withdrawn so that he can be at the birth of his second child in August, while Haris will miss the tour because of family reasons,” PCB said in a statement.

Pakistan will send 28 players and 14 player support personnel for three Tests and three T20Is to be played in August and September.

The squad as well as pre-series and series schedule will be announced in due course, the board said.

On Tuesday, PCB said that it will not hold a training camp for the national men’s team prior to their departure for England due to concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus.

“Taking into account the COVID-19 outlook in Pakistan in the coming weeks, the operational and logistical matters as well the observation that keeping players in a safe and secure environment would remain a challenge, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided not to hold a training camp of the national men’s team prior to their departure for England,” PCB had said in a statement.

The body also said that it is already in discussions with the England Cricket Board (ECB) to bring forward its early July departure date for England so the Pakistan squad can benefit from additional practice time there.

“More details around the pre-tour COVID-19 testing of the players and player support personnel, assembling them in Lahore and their training/match schedule will be shared in due course,” the statement had read.