KARACHI: Karachi Kings Director Wasim Akram and two Peshawar Zalmi players, Wahab Riaz and Haider Ali, have tested positive for the coronavirus, just two days before the start of Pakistan Super League (PSL).
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 contracted Covid-19 and were replaced by reserves players.
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 the other hand, Karachi Kings’ director and mentor Wasim Akram also returned the positive Covid-19 Test after he returned from Legends League. Franchise representative opined that the Karachi Kings can neither confirm nor deny any COVID test results.
PSL 2022 is set to begin on January 27 at the National Stadium in Karachi, but several players and support staff have already tested positive for coronavirus.
Four days earlier, the PCB said three cricketers and five members of the support staff from different franchises contracted Covid-19. The players and officials who had tested negative have entered the biosecure bubble and they were allowed to resume training from January 24.
It must be noted that Zalmi will face Quetta Gladiators in their opening match of the campaign on January 28.
