Ajmal bets on England to win Test series, would be 'surprised' if Pakistan wins a match

Former Pakistan cricketer Saeed Ajmal has placed his bets on England to win the upcoming Test series against the Men in Green post the COVID-forced break. Ajmal has stated that he would be 'surprised' if Pakistan wins even one match. The former off-spinner believes that the visiting team is 'inexperienced' and has a lot of young players. 

“I think England are clear favourites because Pakistan’s track record in Test cricket, in the recent past, is not very good. I would be surprised if Pakistan even wins one match,” Pakistan Cricket quoted Saeed Ajmal as he spoke at a teleconference.

The former cricketer also stated that it would be 'boring' for players to play without crowds. Ajmal stated that it would be similar to 'deaf cricket' and called on authorities to allow a limited number of fans inside the stadium despite the COVID-19 outbreak. The former spinner reasoned that for a venue with a capacity of 10,000 people could allow 1,000 amid the pandemic. 

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20 players travel to England 

As the Pakistan squad continues to grapple with COVID-19, 20 players from the original 29-man squad announced by the PCB, travelled to the UK on Sunday and went into isolation. This comes after 10 players had tested COVID-19 positive. 

As the UK government has denied permission for players who have tested COVID positive to tour the country, the PCB has added Musa Khan and Pakistan U19 captain and wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir in the 20-man squad set to leave for England on Sunday. Cliffe Deacon and Waqar Younis will join the side directly from South Africa and Australia, respectively, while Shoaib Malik is expected to travel around 24 July.

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The PCB has also announced that once the players who have tested positive, test negative, they will be sent to England to join the Men in Green. Reflecting upon the players who have tested positive, the PCB announced that six players have tested negative in the retests. These players are: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz. Meanwhile, Players who have again tested positive are: Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Kashif Bhatti and Imran Khan, along with Malang Ali (masseur).

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.

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