Pakistan skipper Babar Azam stated that they never felt the need to cancel the tour of England midway after three of the English players and four support staff tested positive for COVID-19. England had to name an entirely different 18 members squad with Ben Stokes taking the charge.
The first team squad was forced to go into 10-day isolation but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was satisfied with the arrangements made by the England Cricket Board (ECB) and will continue with their white-ball series which begins on Thursday (8 July).
Pakistan has been the most frequent traveling side since the pandemic. This is their second tour of England in a year’s time and most of the players have been in the bi0-secure bubble since May. However, Babar Azam said that they never contemplated calling the tour off as England did on their tour to South Africa last year.
"No, we didn't think about it, it didn't come into our minds at any time," Azam was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "The PCB and ECB have assured us that they will take care of the safety and health of all the squad members. We must understand that these are unprecedented times of Covid-19. I want to acknowledge my players who have spent the last 18 months in and out of bio-secure bubbles and we have prepared in that. For now we are focusing on cricket and tomorrow's game,” he added.
The skipper said that they are well aware of most of the England players but the wholesale changes have forced the team analysts to go back to the drawing board once again.
"We know most of them but there were a couple of new faces in the squad and we sat together with the analyst, we worked on them, we have seen footage of their county matches," Azam said. "They may be new players but they are playing for England so we won't take them lightly. I know a few of them, having played in T20 Blast, and those we don't know we have researched their performances,” he added.