Pakistan players test negative for Covid-19 ahead of South Africa tour

Pakistan Cricket Team is all set to travel to South Africa for a limited-overs series comprising three-match ODI series followed by four T20 Internationals, starting from April 2, Friday at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Ahead of the marquee tour, the fans have been treated with a piece of good news as it is learned that all the 35 players picked for the South Africa tour have returned a negative result for the novel coronavirus and are all set to fly to South Africa on March 26.

In the previous week, it was reported that one player from the Pakistan squad had tested positive for Covid-19 and was therefore asked to stay back at his residence while undergoing self-quarantine. The other selected cricketers, on the other hand, were involved in a training camp that was scheduled at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. It is learned that two inter-squad 50-over matches were also conducted on March 20 and 22.

In the latest development, the player, who had tested positive, had returned a negative test at his home and was therefore allowed to travel to Lahore where he was asked to undergo two days of isolation before getting tested for the deadly virus again. After the cricketer returned the negative result in Lahore, he was permitted to join the main squad and will be traveling to South Africa.

Sharjeel Khan earns maiden call up from Pakistan

Apart from the player who had tested positive for Covid-19, there was another player namely Sharjeel Khan who was not a part of the training camp in Lahore. Sharjeel had earned a call-up to Pakistan’s T20I squad after a stunning performance in the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), however, there are major concerns regarding the fitness of the opening batsman as he weighs a whopping 112 kilos.

Though skipper Babar Azam had backed Sharjeel to perform well in the South Africa tour and emerge as a vital cog for the team, it is speculated that the team-management led by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq isn’t happy with the batsman fitness. He has been provided with a personal trainer and has been asked to work on his fitness if we wants to form a part of Playing XI.