Imran adamant on Pakistan's England tour: 'people want to see Cricket start despite Covid'

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Ghan signalled a green light for the side's upcoming tour to England in July, citing that people wanted to see the game resume despite the COVID risk. Pakistan are scheduled to visit the UK for three T20s and Tests, although ECB yet to finalise the dates for the tour. International cricket is all set to resume after a three-month-long hiatus with England taking on West Indies from July 8 in a bio-secure environment. 

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Pakistan PM gives green light

Pakistan PM Imran Khan told PCB chairman Ehsan Mani that the side must go to England to play T20s and Tests as people want to see cricket resume despite the coronavirus pandemic, a PCB source said according to PTI. Imran, a former skipper himself, insisted that the side should follow all the required protocols put in place by the ECB to ensure the safety of the players' health. The Pakistan PM also directed the PCB to not terminate anyone's services until the pandemic passes. 

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'We are not expecting anything in return' 

Pakistan's head coach Misbah-ul-Haq expressed his desire for international cricket to resume soon and for other sides to tour his country as ít is important for Pakistan cricket and its fans'. International cricket will resume on July 8 when England will take on West Indies after over a three-month-long coronavirus-forced hiatus. Speaking about Pakistan's scheduled tour to England later in July, the former Pakistan skipper said that the country wasn't expecting England to return the favour and tour Pakistan but it was important to get cricket started once again. 

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Pakistan tour of England 2020

The 1992 World Cup winners will be touring England for a three-match Test series that will be followed by a three-match T20I series from July 30 to September 2, 2020. Meanwhile, the PCB  also announced that spin legend Mushtaq Ahmed has been named as the bowling coach for the upcoming tour while former captain as well as batting great Younis Khan has been appointed as the batting coach. Earlier in the week, the PCB cancelled a players’ training camp at the National Cricket Academy due to the increase in cases of COVID-19 in the country. The PCB had said that 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, which is why the PCB decided not to hold a training camp prior to their departure for England. Instead, the PCB asked ECB to prepare an itinerary which allows the Pakistan team to reach London early in June. The squad was originally scheduled to land in the UK on July 6.

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