KARACHI: Australian leg spinner Fawad Ahmed tested positive for COVID-19 while playing in the Pakistan Super League and has been put in isolation, his club said Monday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said all remaining members of Islamabad United have tested negative.
“One of our players, Fawad Ahmed tested positive ... and was immediately put in isolation two days ago,” Islamabad said in a statement.
In his only appearance in PSL this year, Ahmed took 1-40 against Peshawar Zalmi on Saturday. Islamabad lost by six wickets.
Two-time champion Islamabad was due to meet Quetta Gladiators at 7 p.m. on Monday, but the PCB said the match will be delayed for two hours.
It’s the first COVID-19 positive test in Pakistan’s premier twenty20 league, which began on Feb. 20.
On Feb. 21, Peshawar Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz and head coach Daren Sammy were allowed to rejoin their squad after their appeal against a quarantine for breaching COVID-19 protocols was accepted by the PCB.
Riaz and Sammy breached the team’s bio-secure bubble on Feb. 19 when they met with their team owner, who was not part of the bubble. But they rejoined the team following two negative COVID-19 tests after they were spared the three-day quarantine when their appeal was accepted by the PSL committee.
Australian player positive for COVID-19 while playing in Pakistan cricket league
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Australian player positive for COVID-19 while playing in Pakistan cricket league
- Australian leg spinner Fawad Ahmed has been put in isolation
- Pakistan Cricket Board says all remaining members of Islamabad United tested negative
Pakistan engages Saudi Arabia, China in bid to ease surging Middle East tensions
- Pakistan’s foreign minister stresses need for de-escalation in conversations with Chinese, Saudi counterparts
- Tensions in the Middle East continue to remain high as conflict between US, Israel and Iran intensifies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and China on Tuesday, stressing the importance of diplomatic engagement to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East as the Iran war intensifies.
Pakistan has constantly engaged regional countries in efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Middle East, after the US and Isreal launched coordinated strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Iran launched fresh attacks on Gulf countries on Tuesday morning, where it has targeted US military bases in recent weeks. In addition to firing missiles and drones at Israel and American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure which, combined with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices soaring worldwide.
Dar spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss developments in the Middle East and ongoing deliberations at the UN Security Council, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.
“DPM/FM shared Pakistan’s perspective, underscoring the importance of continued coordination and diplomatic engagement to support de-escalation and promote peace and stability across the region and beyond,” the statement said.
Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s foreign minister, spoke to Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi over the telephone separately. The two discussed the evolving regional situation and broader global developments.
Dar underscored the need to ease tensions in the Middle East and the wider region during the conversation, the foreign office said.
Yi appreciated Pakistan’s constructive efforts aimed at promoting de-escalation and stability in the region, it added.
“The two leaders stressed the importance of de-escalation and emphasized the need to pursue dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter,” the foreign office’s statement said.
The conflict in the Middle East has hit Pakistan hard as well, forcing Islamabad to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per liter last Friday.
Pakistan’s government has also announced a set of austerity measures, which include closing schools and cutting down on government expenditures, as it evaluates petrol stocks and looks for alternative supply routes.
