The Pakistan cricket team has left the country for England for a series which includes four Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20. Before departure at the Lahore Airport, the 42-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq says he is sanguine about the prospects of the team performance in the series against England. Ahead of series, Pakistani players will participate in a training camp in England to get familiar with the English conditions before their first warm-up game against Somerset at the county city of Somerset, Taunton, on July 3.
Misbah will be leading the team in the series while international team captain Azhar Ali and his Twenty20 counterpart, Sarfraz Ahmed, will lead their teams. A Pakistan Cricket Board official said the board had barred players from giving interviews and asked them to have limited interaction with the English media, unless permitted by the manager.
"However, the players have been allowed to take their families on tour till the start of the series. The players have been allowed to take their families on tour but will have to send them back before the start of the Test series," he said. This will be the first assignment for the new head coach, Mickey Arthur, while it will see the return of Muhammad Aamir in England after the infamous spot-fixing scandal in 2010. The board has also cautioned Aamir to be patient and tolerant. Aamir, who has never played Test cricket since his involvement and ban in match fixing during Lord's Test, will return to Test on July 14 in the same ground.