PSL 2022: Multan Sultans' Tim David tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of qualifier

In a major jolt to the high flying defending champions Multan Sultans, their star middle-order batter Tim David has reportedly tested COVID positive before the first qualifier of the ongoing Pakistan Super League. The Sultans, who made the qualifiers on the back of a tremendous nine victories in ten games, thus topping the points table, has relied massively on David’s swashbuckling stroke play in their middle order.

The 25-year-old cricketer has finished several innings for his side, showcasing a range of aggressive stroke play. Sultans, a team that has often got off to brilliant starts with the bat thanks to their openers, have found the perfect man in David as their finisher. The right-handed batter is in the top ten run-getters this season and has so far scored 251 runs with an average in the early 40s. With a strike rate hovering close to 200, David has been a top contributor with the bat for his team.

Frequent COVID cases at the  seventh edition of the PSL

However, even though the Multan Sultan’s team management has neither confirmed nor denied the news, alrhough reports in Geo News suggest David has returned a positive PCR test just hours before the all-important qualifier. Several other individuals in the PSL covid bubble have already tested positive for the virus in the recent few weeks. Commentator Urooj Mumtaz also tested positive earlier in the day, making the authorities conduct tests of all the other commentators and presenters. While, New Zealand commentator, Danny Morrison, had also tested positive for the virus last week.

In terms of players, three of the Peshawar Zalmi’s squad members, Sohail Khan, Usman Qadir, Ben Cutting plus their mentor, Hashim Amla had also contracted the virus previously.

Even though David’s absence could be a major let-down for the defending champions, they possess enough firepower to recover and continue to put on a match-winning performance. Their captain, Mohammad Rizwan has been in prolific form opening the innings with the other in-form batter Shan Masood. They are further bolstered with Rilee Rossouw coming down the order, who himself has been causing havoc for the opposition bowlers with his clean hitting.