LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has given special permission to Shoaib Malik to join the cricket team in England on 24th July after spending time with his family whom he has not seen for nearly five months.
Shoaib’s wife, Sania Mirza, and one-year-old son, Izhaan Mirza Malik, have been in India, while Shoaib has been in Sialkot since the imposition of international travel ban due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the travel ban, Shoaib was playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, which commenced on 20th February before it was suspended on 17th March.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said that unlike others, Shoaib Malik has not seen his immediate family for nearly five months due to his commitments and subsequent international travel bans.
“As travel restrictions are now slowly easing out and there is an opportunity for a family reunion, it is appropriate that at a human level we show compassion as part of our duty of care and respect Shoaib’s request.
“We have spoken with the England and Wales Cricket Board who understand the situation and have agreed to make an exception by helping Shoaib enter the country on 24 July,” he said.
The team will depart on 28 June for Manchester, before driving to Derbyshire for their fourteen-day quarantine period during which they will be allowed to train and practice.
Apart from training and practice, there will be intra-squad matches to compensate for the lack of practice matches due to non-availability of local teams as the ECB is yet to commence the domestic season.
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