Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 has just been hit by news which has sent shockwaves to the people around the league. The 12th match of the season between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators which was supposed to be played on Monday, March 1, will be delayed by two hours. 

The updates which are coming from Pakistan suggests that Fawad Ahmed from the Islamabad United squad has been tested positive with COVID-19, which has caused a delay in the proceedings of tonight’s match by two hours. The Australian spinner was tested positive on Monday.

Tonight’s match between the two teams, which was scheduled to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi, was going to start at 7:00 PM PKT (7:30 PM IST), but now will start at 9:00 PM PKT (9:30 PM IST), as per the tweets from Islamabad United franchise. The tweet also mentioned that no other player from the squad has got affected. 

Islamabad United cleared to play

It has not been made official how Ahmed got affected by the virus, even when the players were staying in a strict biosecure bubble, where they were not supposed to come in contact with anyone from the outside, without prior precautions and permission. The tweet also revealed that Islamabad United has been cleared to participate again despite the players being tested positive.

It was also mentioned that the delayed start of the match is because there will be several players who will be tested once again. This had to be done immediately, in order to provide proper care to the players who are living in the biosecure bubble. It was also reported that Fawad Ahmed has shown symptoms a few days ago and two days back, he was put into isolation. 

🚨 UPDATE 🚨

The match is scheduled to start at 9pm now. All other teams are currently undergoing Tests. Islamabad United are cleared to play.

— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) March 1, 2021

After months of speculations, PCB finally was able to manage all the required conditions to make the league happen, but if the virus is spread from one player to someone else, then there could be issues in having the league, peacefully as one would have hoped for.

Earlier in the tournament, Peshawar Zalmi had drawn a lot of attention when Darren Sammy and Wahab Riaz were caught violating the protocols of the biosecure bubble. However, they were let go with minimal warnings.