Pakistan drop batter for PSL bubble breach

Pakistan have dropped Haider Ali from their tour of England and West Indies after the batsman and his Peshawar Zalmi teammate Umaid Asif broke COVID19 protocols in the Pakistan Super League  in Abu Dhabi.

Both were suspended from the PSL final against Multan Sultans after admitting to meeting people from outside their designated bio-secure bubble and flouting social distancing norms on Wednesday.

"The two cricketers were found not to have interacted with any other squad members at any time after the incident and have been placed in room isolation," the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.

Sohaib Maqsood, who last played for Pakistan in a T20 match in New Zealand more than five years ago, will replace Haider in the squad.

Babar Azam's side will leave for Manchester on Friday to play three one-dayers and three T20 matches in England.

From there, they will fly to West Indies to play five T20 matches and two Test matches.