KARACHI: Pakistan all-rounder Faheem Ashraf will miss the second Test against Australia after testing positive for Covid-19, the Pakistan Cricket Board said Wednesday.

The 28-year-old all-rounder missed the drawn first Test in Rawalpindi due to a hamstring injury.

“Faheem has tested positive for Covid-19 in his on-arrival test at the Karachi team hotel,” the PCB said in a statement. “He will now undergo a five-day isolation.”

The second Test starts on Saturday in Karachi.

Faheem has blossomed as a Test all-rounder in the past two years, giving Pakistan much-needed balance in both batting and bowling.

He has so far played 13 Tests, scoring 632 runs with four half centuries and taken 22 wickets.

Faheem is the second Pakistan player to test positive for the virus after fast bowler Haris Rauf missed the first Test for the same reason.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2022