PAK vs ENG: Preparations disrupted as several members of touring side affected by a virus ahead of historic Test

With not more than 24 hours to go for the historic Test series between Pakistan and England, a shocking news has come along. The preparations for the first Test in Pakistan for England after 17 years have now been hit hard as more than a dozen members in the visitors group have fallen ill. The reports confirmed that the players haven’t contracted Covid-19.  

The source from Daily Mail added that England have a separate chef for the tour and hence, the virus hasn’t been contracted through food. Notably, the skipper Ben Stokes is among the names that have been laid low due to the virus. It has been understood that the players were advised rest including the coaching staff and Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Keaton Jennings had only attended the optional net session on Wednesday at the Rawalpindi Cricket stadium.  

The players are expected to recover from the illness before the first Test which starts on December 1. England had already announced their playing XI for the first Test and it remains to be seen if they make any changes to it if the illness doesn’t recover in time.  

England’s playing XI for first Test against Pakistan 

Skipper Stokes mentioned that Ben Duckett is all set to play at the top of the order after his impressive play against spin in the T20I series earlier in Pakistan. Ducket last played a Test for England six years back in 2016 and has been brought back into the setup now.  Also, all-rounder Liam Livingstone is set to make his Test debut in the upcoming game. Livingstone has played 12 ODIs and 29 T20 internationals so far for England across format and all eyes will be on how he goes in the red-ball format.

England’s playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Liam Livingstone, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson.