Azhar announced the 16 member Pakistan squad while interacting with Pakistan media in an online press conference ahead of the first Test on Tuesday before sharing his views on team’s preparation for what promises to be an exciting series.

Team Green had won the first four-day match at the same venue by six wickets and the players would  now undergo practice sessions on 29 and 30 July at Derby, before departing for Manchester to feature in the first Test match against England starting from 5 August at Old Trafford, Manchester.

PCB says that remaining nine players  including Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain and Musa Khan will continue to train with the squad for the T20I series, which would be played at the backend of the Test series.

PCB Greens ended the day at 133 for three in 48 overs, leading by 48 runs with seven second innings wickets remaining.

Sohail shared how the presence of the bowling legend in the support staff helped him gear up for the four-day match.

Pakistan men’s national cricket team completed their first intra-squad four-dayer on Monday and one of the many silver linings for the team was seasoned fast bowler Sohail Khan’s five-wicket haul

Ramiz Raja says the most important part would be to see off the new ball without damages and that was why they could try an additional opener with Abid and Shan.

Musa Khan and Rohail Nazir to also depart with the side; left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar to join from England to assist the side in pre-series preparations

Following the announcement yesterday that three players had tested positive for Covid-19, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday confirmed that a further seven players and a player support personnel from a total of 35 have tested positive for Covid-19

Fast bowlers Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir, and middle-order batsman Haris were not available for selection. Hasan is suffering from a back injury, Amir withdrew so that he can be at the birth of his second child in August while Haris took the option of pulling out of the tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic.