Peshawar Zalmi's Haider Ali and Umaid Asif have been suspended from the PSL final against Multan Sultans in Abu Dhabi on Thursday after the two accused people from outside their biosecure bubble of violating the tournament's health and safety protocols. has accepted. They also failed to maintain prescribed social distancing.
A PCB release said the incident took place on Wednesday and the decision to withdraw the two players was taken by the tournament's COVID-19 management panel comprising barristers Salman Nasir (PCB, Chief Operating Officer) and Babar Hamid (PCB). Director - Commercial, and Head of PSL).
"The two cricketers did not interact with any other team members at any point after the incident and were kept in room isolation," the release said.
For the same reason, Ali has also been dropped from the upcoming tours of England and the West Indies, and has been replaced by Sohaib Maqsood.
Asif's exit is a major setback for the finalists, with the pacer being a mainstay in the starting XI. He had played all of Zalmi's games so far in Abu Dhabi, with Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan being the only other available partners to have taken more than their eight wickets this season. While Haider has struggled for form and was ruled out of four games in the Abu Dhabi leg, he remained a potentially explosive substitute before the final.
Asif issued a statement after the announcement, acknowledging the breach and expressing "great remorse for my actions". "Not only did I miss out on playing in the PSL final but more importantly I am deeply disappointed to have let my Peshawar Zalmi teammates down," he added.