Former cricketer and Karachi Kings’ President Wasim Akram and two Peshawar Zalmi’s players — Wahab Riaz and Haider Ali — tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
As per The News, Wasim Akram and the players of the PSL franchise have quarantined themselves after their test for the virus came back positive.
It is a big blow for Zalmi as its two key players tested positive for the virus days before the start of the mega event.
It is pertinent to mention here that the total toll of coronavirus positive players for the Zalmis has reached four as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday confirmed the franchise’s Kamran Akmal and Arshad Iqbal had tested positive for Covid-19 and were replaced by players from the reserves pool.
The replacement, according to the PCB, will be temporary and the replaced players can re-integrate into the squad after completing isolation and receiving negative PCR results.
On January 21, the PCB had confirmed that three cricketers and five members of the support staff from different franchises had contracted the virus.
Earlier, 40 staff memebers of the hotel reserved for PSL 7 bio-secure bubble had tested positive for Covid-19.
The seventh edition of the PSL is scheduled to kickoff at Karachi’s National Stadium from January 27. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had allowed 25 per cent crowd attendance for the Karachi-leg of the tournament after the surge in cases in the city. NCOC will make a decision closer to the time for the Lahore-leg matches scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium from February 10-27.
