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Peshawar Zalmi's players, Haider Ali and Umaid Asif, have been ruled out of the PSL 2021 final on Thursday after being found guilty of violating the health and safety protocols that are in place for the tournament. The duo admitted to charges of meeting people from outside the bio-secure bubble and failing to keep themselves socially distanced.
The decision to suspend Umaid Asif and Haider Ali was taken by PSL 2021's COVID-19 Management panel, comprising of COO PCB, Salman Naseer, and Director Commercial PCB, Babar Hamid. As per PCB’s release on Thursday, Haider Ali and Umaid Asif did not interact with any other players from the Zalmi squad and have been placed in isolation.
To make matters worse for the young batsman, Haider Ali’s name has also been withdrawn from Pakistan’s squads for their upcoming tours of England and the West Indies. Chairman of Pakistan’s selection committee, Muhammad Wasim, has decided to replace Haider Ali with the in-form Multan Sultans batsman, Sohaib Maqsood, for the two tours.
The official release also stated that both Babar Azam, captain of Pakistan’s national sides, and Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s head coach, were consulted regarding Haider Ali’s replacement.
Sohaib Maqsood has been in excellent form in PSL 2021
Sohaib Maqsood last represented Pakistan in 2016 in a T20I match against New Zealand at Hamilton. The 34-year-old middle order batsman has played 20 T20Is and 26 ODIs for Pakistan.
Sohaib Maqsood has been in scintillating form in the on-going PSL 2021. He has accumulated 363 runs in the tournament at an average of 40.33 and a sublime strike rate of 153. He will feature in the PSL 2021 final as the Multan Sultans look to secure their first-ever PSL title.
