Pakistan spinner Raza Hasan sent home for breaching COVID-19 protocols

Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Raza Hasan was expelled from the remainder of his country’s domestic season for breaching COVID-19 protocols. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took the strict decision on Monday. Known for his match-winning spell against Australia in the 2012 T20 World Cup, the spinner was plying his trade for Northern’s Second XI in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

The PCB confirmed the news on Monday. The cricket board announced that the 28-year-old has been sent back home after he “left the bio-secure premises at a local hotel without seeking a prior clearance from the medical team” and the High-Performance department. Nadeem Khan, the PCB’s High-Performance Director, called his actions “irresponsible and damaging”.

“It is sad and unfortunate that despite several reminders and educational programmes on the significance and importance of respecting and following Covid-19 protocols, Raza Hasan decided to take matters in his hand and overstepped the line. As such, he has been expelled from the tournament and will not be allowed for the remaining season,” Khan said in a press release.

“The PCB has a zero-tolerance approach towards Covid-19 breaches as these are designed to not only ensure health and safety of all participants but to also demonstrate to the world that we can successfully organise and deliver domestic competitions,” he added.

A troubled career

The latest incident is just another setback in Raza Hasan’s career which began on a promising note. Raza Hasan made his debut for Pakistan as a 19-year old in T20 cricket and made an instant impression. During that year’s T20 World Cup, he had returned figures of 4-0-14-2 against Australia and was adjudged Man of the Match.

However, he did not really manage to build on his fine start in international cricket. In 2015, he suffered a huge setback when he was banned for two years for testing positive for a prohibited substance. He received an opportunity to make a return to high-profile cricket in 2018 when Lahore Qalandars snapped him up in the PSL draft.

But he failed to deliver with the ball as he went wicketless in two games before the Qalandars released him. Since then, he has not played in PSL and has been a regular in the Northerns 2nd XI side this season.