KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators have partially replaced Shahid Afridi, who is unavailable for the initial matches after testing positive for Covid-19, with left-handed spinner Hassan Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Sunday.
According to the statement, the partial replacement has been made as Afridi – who would be playing his last Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament – is undergoing seven days isolation.
The PSL’s technical committee approved the replacement and now the left-hand spinner will undergo three-day isolation before joining the squad. ETC is headed by Zakir Khan (Director – International Cricket Operations), and includes Nadeem Khan (Director – High Performance) and Sameer Khosa.
Hassan Khan is one of the 15 reserve players in the Managed Event Environment and, as such, will not be required to undergo 72-hour isolation to join the Gladiators squad.
The Gladiators have three more matches in the ongoing Karachi leg. They will go against Multan Sultans on January 31, Islamabad United on February 3, and Lahore Qalandars on February 7. They have won one out of the two matches played so far.
The former Pakistan team captain and Gladiators all-rounder had tested positive for coronavirus on January 27 after he had briefly exited the bio-secure bubble for a medical check-up.
