England all-rounder Ben Stokes is set to lead the English side in the upcoming series against Pakistan after seven English squad members tested positive for COVID-19.
According to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), seven of its squad members including four management personnel and three players have tested positive for COVI-19.
The remaining members of English squad have since gone in isolation as a precautionary measure.
Furthermore, the ECB has announced that he Royal London ODIs and the Vitality IT20s against Pakistan will go ahead as scheduled and Ben Stokes will lead the squad as captain.
“We have been mindful that the emergence of the Delta variant, along with our move away from the stringent enforcement of bio secure environments, could increase the chances of an outbreak. We made a strategic choice to try to adapt protocols, in order to support the overall wellbeing of our players and management staff who have spent much of the last 14 months living in very restricted conditions,” said Tom Harrison – CEO ECB.
England ODI Squad Against Pakistan Series
- Ben Stokes (captain)
- Jake Ball
- Danny Briggs
- Brydon Carse
- Zak Crawley
- Ben Duckett
- Lewis Gregory
- Tom Helm
- Will Jacks
- Dan Lawrence
- Saqib Mahmood
- Dawid Malan
- Craig Overton
- Matt Parkinson
- David Payne
- Phil Salt
- John Simpson
- James Vince
The development comes as cricket teams of England and Pakistan are scheduled to go head-to-head in three ODIs and T20Is each.
The first ODI will be played in Cardiff on July 8 (Thursday). The remaining ODIs will be played at Lord’s on July 10 and Edgbaston on July 13. The T20Is will take place on July 16 in Nottingham. July 18 in Leeds and July 20 in Manchester.