England cricketer Alex Hales, who was playing for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has reportedly tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, prompting the authorities to call off the PSL hours before the semi-final. Following the detection of coronavirus, which has killed more than 6,500 people and infected over 1.5 lakh across the world, all the players and broadcasters were being tested for COVID-19.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not confirmed Hales' name and its Chief Executive Officer Wasim Khan said that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 has been postponed indefinitely after a foreign player displayed symptoms of the coronavirus.

Alex Hales
Alex Hales is an English cricketer, who was part of the Karachi franchise in the PSL 2020.Reuters

Sporting events called off or postponed amid Covid-19 fears

While most sporting events across the had to be called off or postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, the PSL was among the few who continued despite the fears of the virus outbreak. The PCB, however, allowed at least 12 international players, including Hales and his colleague in the England team Jason Roy, to leave, if they want to.

The decision to call-off the league came hours before the two semi-final matches scheduled to be played on Tuesday at 2 pm (local time). In the first semi-final, Multan Sultans was up against Peshawar Zalmi, while the second match was between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars. The final match was scheduled to be played on Wednesday, March 18 between the winners of semi-finals.

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