Pakistan reveals 1 of its 35-man SA & Zimbabwe tour squad is Covid-positive; won't say who

One player of the Pakistan national team has been tested positive for COVID-19. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on March 12 announced the 35-member Pakistan squad for its Africa tour. The Pakistan cricket team will depart for Johannesburg on March 26 for the three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa. They will then fly to Bulawayo on April 17 for three T20Is and two Tests against Zimbabwe. Pakistan is scheduled to return on May 12.

To leave for the South Africa tour, all the selected 35 members underwent the COVID-19 test on March 16. PCB revealed that all squad members have tested negative, except for one player.

PCB in its statement said, "A total of 35 tests were conducted on the South Africa-bound Pakistan men’s national cricket team on Tuesday, 16 March. All squad members have tested negative, except for one player."

All the players who have been tested negative for COVID-19 will now have to assemble on March 18, for the training camp, which will commence at the Gaddafi Stadium from March 19.

"The player who has tested positive will undergo a repeat test on Thursday at his residence. If he tests negative, only then he will be eligible to travel to Lahore where he will remain in isolation for two more days before being retested," added PCB. 

Eye on ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League

The PCB had announced a 35-member squad for both South Africa and Zimbabwe tour. The South Africa tour, as well as the Zimbabwe tour, will count towards the ICC T20I and Test rankings, while the three ODIs against South Africa will be part of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League – a 13-team competition from which the top seven sides will qualify automatically for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

The 35-member Pakistan cricket team squad witnessed the comeback of Sharjeel Khan after four years. While leg-spinner Yasir Shah is suffering from a left knee injury and requires another six weeks to fully recover, in place of Yasir, Zahid Mahmood got the chance in the Test squad. 

Pakistan's 35 member squad for South Africa and Zimbabwe tours 

Test squad: Babar Azam (c), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan

ODI squad: Babar Azam (c), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali.

T20I squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir, Hasan Ali, Arshad Iqbal