PAK vs AUS | Aussie spin consultant Fawad Ahmed tests Covid-19 positive

The beginning of their historic tour to Pakistan hasn’t turned out to be a great one for the Aussies as their spin consultant Fawad Ahmed has been tested positive ahead of the first Test in Rawalpindi starting from March 4, 2022. He has been in isolation since arriving from the recently concluded Pakistan Super League and thus hasn’t yet interacted with the other members of the Lahore Qalandars squad.

The Australian medical staff needed Ahmed to isolate before joining the team as a precautionary measure although he was coming from PSL’s bio-secure bubble. He was tested for Covid-19 as he was experiencing mild symptoms and has returned a positive test.

As per Government regulations, the 40-year old needs to isolate himself for five more days and can join the squad only after returning two negative tests. Fortunately, the remaining members of the visiting team have tested negative in their routine testing.

The visitor’s spin consultant seems to have caught up with the virus during PSL as his teammate Haris Rauf has also been ruled out from the Rawalpindi Test owing to the same reason.

The star Pakistani seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi was also seen sitting next to Australia in the flight after the completion of the PSL final, but thankfully, he hasn’t been tested positive for coronavirus yet.

Ahmed suffered from this virus during the PSL last year as well, as a result of which he experienced breathing problems and described the virus as ‘bloody tough’ in his own words.

Given the necessity of a spin consultant in the subcontinent, we must say that it’s a big blow for the visitors.

Australia, who are touring Pakistan after a gap of 24 years, will start this historic tour with the three-match Test leg before changing their outfits for the limited-overs phase, which is comprised of three ODIs and a one-off T20I.

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IPL 2022 | Five possible replacements for Jason Roy at Gujarat Titans

On Monday (1st March), Jason Roy pulled out of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to bio bubble fatigue. The explosive English opener was bought by Gujarat Titans for INR 2 crores at his base price. He has been in the form of his life scoring at an average of over 50 in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and it was pretty much assured that he would open the innings alongside Shubham Gill. The 31-year-old chose to spend time with his family over the IPL and announced his decision on Twitter. Since the swashbuckling opener has opted out, the franchise will be looking at alternative options in the market. Here is a list of 5 players that the Gujarat Titans might sign to replace the English opener: Will Smeed: Will Smeed is a 20-year-old opener from England who took the PSL 2022 by storm. The young opener has two scores of over 90 in the short spell for the Quetta Gladiators. Smeed is an explosive opener who has the ability to play those big match-winning innings. The Cambridge-born batsman proved his mettle in subcontinental conditions which makes him a decent option to replace the dangerous Roy. The fact that he is just 20 years old is something that will play in his favour as the franchise can invest in him for the long run. Chris Lynn: The Australian opener has been a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2012 but came into the limelight in the 2018 edition while representing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Lynn had been a part of Mumbai Indians (MI) for the past few seasons but found it difficult to break into the lineup. The Queenslander has been playing in the Asian conditions for years and possesses the experience needed to perform in subcontinental tracks. The Brisbane stalwart might have been unsold in the mega auction but his experience makes him a decent replacement option for Roy. Rahmanullah Gurbaz: The Afghanistan opener has been the talk of the town ever since he smashed a beautifully constructed ton against Bangladesh a few days back. With his incredible record, the wicketkeeper-batsman made quite a transition representing the country from U-19 to the international level. Gurbaz came into the limelight while representing the Afghanistan U-19 team back in 2018. At just 16, he was smashing the bowlers all around the park. The Islamabad United player is an explosive top order batter who played the majority of his cricket growing up in the subcontinent conditions and this might give him a huge advantage over other available options. With age on his side, the T20 star looks like a great prospect for the future. Ben McDermott: McDermott has been a star player in the Big Bash League (BBL) for years now and the fact that he is yet to ply his trade in the toughest twenty is a bit shocking. One of the deadliest openers in the BBL remained unsold in the IPL mega-auction. The Australian opener scored back to back hundreds in the last edition of the BBL. McDermott hardly played any cricket in the subcontinent and it is one of the biggest reasons why one of the best from the BBL hasn’t been picked up in the IPL auction. With his aggressive approach, the Hobart Hurricanes hitter would compliment Gill in the best possible way if the Gujarat Titans decide to go ahead with him. The Tasmanian gives them an option of being their wicket-keeper and even if he doesn’t have the gloves on he still is a gun fielder. Suresh Raina: ‘Mr.IPL’ Suresh Raina remained unsold in the IPL 2022 Mega- Auction and it came as a huge surprise to many. The southpaw has hardly played any cricket in the past two years apart from taking part in the 2021 edition where he underperformed for CSK. In normal circumstances, GT would not even imagine replacing Roy with Raina but the blunders that they made in the auction hall might force them to think of Raina. The Titans do not have a dependable Indian middle-order batter might trouble them. Wriddhiman Saha and Gurkeerat Singh are both a part of their squad but have underperformed over the past few seasons and can’t be relied on. With Matthew Wade and David Miller in their ranks, it might be a bit easier to fill the boots of Roy. So they might be tempted to look at Raina who will strengthen their middle order and solve a few major issues that exist in their top order. Drafting Raina will also bring in a huge fan base and the fact that the Indian veteran played for the Gujarat Lions back in the day makes him a great option for the franchise.

CSK's Deepak Chahar to miss majority of IPL 2022: Reports

Chennai Super Kings have suffered a major blow after bowler Deepak Chahar is likely to miss majority of the IPL 2022 season, according to an ESPNCricinfo report. Chahar suffered a quadricep tear in the third T20I against West Indies last month. But as the report suggests, the franchise is waiting for the final assessment from the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The right-arm bowler was bought by the Super Kings in the mega auction earlier for a sum of INR 14 crore. Chahar was first picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants back in 2016 for a base price of INR 10 lakhs. Later, CSK bought him in the 2018 auction for a sum of INR 80 lakhs. CSK to have camp in Surat The Super Kings chief executive officer Kasi Viswanathan informed that the camp will commence on March 8, 2022. The CSK captain MS Dhoni and the support staff including assistant coach Laxmipathy Balaji have already reached Surat. "With the Chennai pitch clay-based we decided to practise on wickets that will be similar to those in Mumbai and Pune. Also the travel will be easy," Viswanathan said.

March 8 set as the arrival date of IPL teams, five practice venues identified

MCA ground in Bandra Kurla Complex, MCA ground in Thane, DY Patil University ground, a football pitch along with the CCI (Cricket Club of India) and the Reliance Corporate Park ground in Ghansoli have been zeroed in as the practice venues.