Decision on Pakistan tour of England to be taken by mid-June

Lahore, May 13: PCB CEO Wasim Khan has made it clear that a final decision on Pakistan's tour of England -- scheduled to begin from July 30 -- will only be taken by mid-June.

The officials of both the Pakistan Cricket Board and England and Wales Cricket Board will be having an online meeting on Friday.

"We are in constant communication with the ECB and a conference call has been set up for Friday," Wasim was quoted as saying by The Dawn on Monday. "The call will be attended by ECB's Chief Executive, Director Cricket, Chief Medical Officer and Director International Cricket Operations. I will be representing the PCB along with Misbah-ul-Haq, Zakir Khan and Dr Sohail Saleem. At this stage we will be discussing various options while a decision on the tour is expected to be made in June."

He added that the ECB was "focused on providing a secure environment for the series against Pakistan".

Pakistan are due to play three Tests and as many T20Is in England during the tour.

All professional cricketing activities remain suspended in England until July 1 in wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, the British government has announced that sports events will be allowed to resume in England in June if there is no new spike in COVID-19 infections. But it is stated that matches will be allowed to take place only before empty stands.

Earlier, West Indies, who were scheduled to play three Tests in England in June, had postponed their tour. And now, there are talks that if the West Indies do not tour England, Pakistan might get to play four or five Tests instead of three.

"The PCB will evaluate the players' travel and accommodation plan that will be shared by the ECB," said PCB CEO.

"There will be more clarity after the conference call. In England, the most important aspect is the health of the players since the longer they stay there, the more they will be exposed," he added.

Cricketing activities across the world have remained suspended since mid-March due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus which has claimed more than 2.8 lakh lives thus far worldwide.