A member of the Pakistan cricket team, who was named in the country’s squad for the South Africa tour, has tested positive for Covid-19 and is said to be isolating at his residence. The Pakistan camp is expected to assemble in Lahore on March 18, post which they will fly to South Africa.
Pakistan have been jolted by yet another Covid-19 development as a player who was named in the country’s squad for the South Africa tour has tested positive for the virus. The PCB had arranged for the players to meet up in Lahore on March 18, but had made prior negative results mandatory, before they could join with the rest of the members. The first round of testing was done on Tuesday, March 16, where the player in focus is said to have returned a positive result. The player, whose identity has been concealed, will now not be travelling to Lahore and will be isolating at his residence.
The PCB, however, according to ESPN Cricinfo, confirmed that the player in question can still join the rest of the team if he returns two more negative results. The PCB revealed that should the player return a negative result in the second round of testing on March 18, he will then be needed to undergo a two-day isolation, after which he will be permitted to join the rest of the team upon returning a second negative result.
Pakistan are scheduled to take on South Africa in 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is in April, with the matches set to be played in Centurion and Johannesburg. The board announced the squad for the tour recently, and it featured the return of big-hitting opener Sharjeel Khan, who impressed in the PSL post the completion of his five-year ban, two-and-a-half of which was suspended.
Pakistan squad vs South Africa
ODI squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali.
T20I squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal.