Hafeez, Latif cast doubt over Covid-19 tests ahead of England tour

Pakistan’s veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and former wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif have questioned the authenticity of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) testing, ahead of the Men in Green’s tour of England.

A day after being declared Covid-19 positive, Hafeez revealed that he had tested negative after seeking a second opinion. 

“As soon as I received my test results from the PCB, I got myself and my family tested again because we had shown no symptoms. The results, which I received this morning, came back negative, ” said Hafeez while talking to Cricket Pakistan.

“Ideally, PCB should have taken tests of all the players twice before releasing the results inorder to be absolutely sure about their accuracy,” he added.    

Meanwhile, Latif said that players should have been tested in England instead of Pakistan.

“I don’t trust testing kits in Pakistan. PCB should take all the players to tour and do their tests outside Pakistan. Whoever comes positive, send them back. I doubt the authenticity of these tests,” said Latif in a YouTube video.  

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Pakistan is scheduled to take on England in three Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), which will be played in August-September.

Following the announcement on Monday that three players had tested positive for Covid-19, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed that a further seven players and a player support personnel from a total of 35 have tested positive for Covid-19. The PCB had organised these 35 tests in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar on Monday.

Players who have tested positive:

Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf.