Alex Hales has shown symptoms of COVID-19, PSL broadcasters to be tested: Ramiz Raja

Amidst the novel Coronavirus pandemic, England's explosive opener Alex Hales who was playing in the Pakistan Super League has shown symptoms of being infected and is currently undergoing tests. Hales had returned home from Pakistan on March 16 and was under mandatory self-isolation. Senior broadcaster, Ramiz Raja on Tuesday confirmed the reports of Alex Hales showing COVID-19 symptoms and also informed that all broadcasters have also been asked to take the tests on Tuesday. 

PSL called off

Earlier on Tuesday, the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2020), which had reached the playoffs stage of the tournament, was called off due to Coronavirus pandemic. This decision was taken with immediate effect as the COVID-19 had started taking a toll on Pakistan. On Monday, Pakistan recorded their biggest single-day rise in coronavirus pandemic as 90 new coronavirus cases took the number of COVID-19 patients in the country to an alarming 183. 

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The PCB announced that the remaining games of the tournament will be rescheduled after reviewing the situation. The PSL 2020 was being played behind closed doors. The PCB had also altered the format of the tournament as they had cancelled qualifiers and eliminator and replaced the playoffs by semifinals.

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New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan was the last player to join the host of overseas cricketers who bid farewell to the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2020) due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Chriss Lynn, Tymal Mills, Jason Roy, James Vince, Tom Banton, Liam Dawson, Lewis Gregory, and Liam Livingstone were among those who left the tournament.

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Rising Coronavirus cases in Pakistan

Pakistan’s coronavirus cases surged to 183 on Monday after dozens of new infections were reported in Sindh province. Officials informed that Sindh had reported 150 positive cases, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 15, Balochistan 10, Gilgit-Baltistan 5, Islamabad 2 and Punjab 1. Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said that 119 patients were among the passengers who arrived in Sukkur from Taftan. The “exponential increase is largely due to the recent inflow of people brought in from Taftan after a purported quarantine," said Wahab.

The number of quarantined pilgrims in Taftan rose to 4,000 by March 11. Some of them were allowed to go their provinces after the local Balochistan government said it could not handle the rush of pilgrims coming from Iran. About 300 people were taken to Sindh and quarantined at Sukkur to undergo tests before going to their homes.

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