Amir to join England tour; Ali cleared of concussion after warm-up blow

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir will join Pakistan’s tour of England having originally withdrawn from the squad citing personal reasons, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Monday.

The 28-year-old pulled out so he could be at the birth of his second child in August, but his daughter was born last week.

Amir will have to test negative for the coronavirus twice before travelling to England, where Pakistan will play three Test matches and three T20 internationals.

The left-armer surprisingly retired from Test cricket last year.

Amir infamously deliberately bowled no-balls as part of a spot-fixing scandal in a Test against England at Lord’s in 2010. He was banned for five years and jailed by a UK court.

The PCB also said the arrival of batsman Shoaib Malik had been delayed due to India’s extension of a ban on international flights pushing back his planned family reunion. Malik is married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

Meanwhile, Pakistan opener Abid Ali has been cleared of concussion after being hit on the helmet Sunday while playing in an intra-squad match on the tour of England, a team statement said.

Abid was fielding at forward short leg on the third day of four at Derby when he was struck by a Haider Ali flick off Mohammad Abbas.

He will now miss Sunday’s fourth and final day as a precaution although the team doctor said he had shown no sign of concussion even after a scan.

“Abid is absolutely fine and will be available to resume training on Wednesday following Tuesday’s rest day,” Dr Sohail Saleem said in a Pakistan Cricket Board statement.

“He underwent a precautionary CT scan which has also returned normal (findings).”

But left-handed batsman Khushdil Shah, a Twenty20 specialist, has been ruled out for up to three weeks after suffering a fracture in his left thumb while batting during a training session on Saturday.

Khushdil, not playing in the ongoing intra-squad game, won’t be available for the second four-day practice match, which also takes place in the Midlands town of Derby from July 24-27.

Pakistan are set to face England in a three-Test series that begins at Old Trafford on August 5 before concluding with two matches at south coast county Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl headquarters.

They return to Old Trafford for three Twenty20 internationals with England at the Manchester ground from August 28 to September 1.

England are currently playing the West Indies in the ongoing second Test at Old Trafford as part of a three-match series that marks the return of international cricket from the coronavirus lockdown.

Agencies