Shoaib Malik to leave for England: The veteran Pakistani batsman was granted a special permission to reach England at a later date.
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Veteran Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik, who was granted a special permission to remain with his family amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, will eventually travel to England on August 15 for the forthcoming three-match T20I series.
Malik, who represented Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League before the COVID-19 outbreak, had no option than to remain in his native country due to travel restrictions during the global pandemic.
With his wife and Indian Tennis star Sania Mirza and their son in India due to the same restrictions, the family hadn’t stayed together for some months. It was due to the same reason that the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) had decided to give Malik some time off to reunite with his family (presumably in Dubai).
Shoaib Malik to leave for England on August 15
Fast bowlers of the likes of Mohammad Amir and Haris Rauf were the latest Pakistani players to land in England. While Amir traveled late due to the birth of his second child, Rauf had tested positive for COVID-19 alongside many other Pakistani players.
Much like the other players, Malik will also have to return two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests to become eligible to enter the bio-secure bubble in Southampton.
Malik, 38, had last played for Pakistan during the T20I series against Bangladesh at home earlier this year. In eight PSL T20s following that, the right-hand batsman had scored 239 runs at an average of 34.14 and a strike rate of 134.26 including three half-centuries.
The senior batsman will be on his 12th tour of England across formats. In the 12 T20Is that Malik has played in England, he has scored 205 runs at an average of 22.77 and a strike rate of 102.50. In 10 T20Is against England, Malik’s 234 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 29.25 and 118.18 respectively.
