- Key Australian players tested positive of corona before the second Test in Karachi
- The players then went a RAT test which came out to be negative
- The Medical Board considered the second test and cleared the players
The Pakistan v Australia historic Test series managed to escape a controversy that would have otherwise spoiled the tournament and given the country a bad name. Before the second Test that was scheduled in Karachi, a corona outbreak gripped the Australian squad.
According to sources, when the Australian team arrived in their hotel in Karachi on 9th March to play the second match of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, some of the Aussie players tested positive of corona on getting the mandatory testing. Among the players, Steve Smith, Usman Khwaja and others from the staff tested positive.
This put the series in trouble as several key players had to immediately go into isolation to stop further spread. Without these players, it would have been impossible to resume play on 12th March since the protocols require to at least isolate for five days before handing a negative Test.
But Cricket Australia (CA) refused to accept the results and demanded a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) be done immediately, which gave out negative results. After consulting the Medical Advisory Board of the PCB it was decided to go with the second test results and all the players were cleared for practice on the next day.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, also tested positive for the virus but was included back in the team on returning a negative RAT test. And even though all the correspondents had the news of this outbreak, it was decided that it would be best for the interest of the series to not break the news.
The Kangaroos went on to win the series 1-0. The decision went into the last session of the last Test where the Aussies managed to bowl out the hosts clinching the inaugural title to their name.
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