In what comes as a blow to the Pakistan men’s cricket team ahead of their upcoming series against Australia, Haris Rauf has tested positive for Covid-19 following which he has been put into isolation. He returned a positive result in the Rapid Antigen Test however, he tested negative upon the team’s arrival in Islamabad on Monday.
The entire team has undergone another round of the Covid-19 test, the results of which are still awaited.
Due to this, Rauf is likely to be ruled out of the first Test between the two teams, which is set to start on Friday, March 4, in Rawalpindi. However, his chances are still open if he returns a negative result in another test.
Rauf was in line to play his maiden Test game after Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf were sidelined owing to their respective injuries that both the players picked up during Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 last week. Ashraf is out with a hamstring strain, while Hasan has suffered an abductor strain. Following this, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had named Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim Jnr as their replacement.
The fast bowler is seen among the rising stars of the team. He recently gave brilliant performances in the PSL 2022 tournament, playing a key role in helping his team Lahore Qalandars lift the title, which helped him earn his position in the squad. He joined the squad on Monday along with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abdullah Shafique, and Mohammad Rizwan.
With his ability to clock a speed of over 140 KPH consistently, Haris Rauf is currently one of the fastest bowlers of the Pakistan setup. Since his debut in January 2020, he has clinched 55 wickets in all formats, averaging 22.76 in T20I cricket.
Pakistan is all set to play a historic game against Australia, Australia’s first tour to the Asian nation since 1998. The tour starts with the Test series, the first game of which will take place in Rawalpindi (March 4-8), while the 2nd Test is set to be played in Karachi (March 12-16) with the final Test scheduled to be hosted in Lahore (March 21-25). The series will be followed by three ODIs and a one-off T20I. The ODI series will take place in Rawalpindi on March 29, March 31, and April 2. The one-off T20I will also take place in Rawalpindi on April 5.
Follow MadOverCricket for the latest cricket news, cricket match updates, cricket match prediction, cricket series updates, and more!
