Before the tour of England, there has been a stir in the Pakistani cricket team after players have been tested Corona positive within 24 hours. While three cricketers tested positive on Monday, seven other players and team massuer- Malang Ali tested positive on Tuesday from a total of 35 who were tested for the virus. The PCB had organized these 35 tests in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar on Monday.
The reports of Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz have come up positive, before Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan were also found infected with Corona on Monday while Usman Shinwari and Imad Wasim tested negative for the Covid-19.
Player who have tested negative: Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, and Yasir Shah
The Pakistani team is scheduled to travel to England later this month. All players were to gather in Lahore on 24 June, from where the team would fly to Manchester, but now the tour looks in jeopardy. However, PCB CEO Wasim Khan said that the tour will go ahead as per the plan.
“The tour to England is very much on track and the side will depart as per schedule on 28 June. Fortunately, all the first-choice red-ball squad, barring Mohammad Rizwan, are negative, which means they can start training and practicing immediately after they have been tested and given the all clear when they arrive in England,” Khan said.
“In the meantime, Misbah-ul-Haq is reviewing the training schedule in England and is firming up plans for reserve players to be tested as a backup,” Khan added.
This would be the first time that Covid has threatened a national cricket team at a time when cricket is set to return on the field. Its worth mentioning that former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi was also found corona positive.
