Opener Taufeeq Umar contracts COVID-19
Image : Collected
|| Desk Report ||
Former Pakistan opener Taufeeq Umar tested positive for coronavirus and is now under self-isolation at his home, as per a report in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
This happens to be the first recognisable name in cricket to have tested positive for the virus.
The stylish left-handed opener, who was an important member of the side during the early 2000s in Tests and ODI, had played his international match for his country in 2014.
Umar has played more Tests than ODIs, as he was not given a prolonged run in the ODI side until 2003, when he played eight ODIs on the trot.
However, he missed only two of 24 Tests played between August 2001 and April 2004. After 17 Checks his batting average had reached 48.03 where he made four scores above 50 in the two-match Test series with South Africa.
Umar amassed 2,963 runs and 504 runs in 44 Tests and 22 ODIs for Pakistan respectively
The south-paw was recalled into the Pakistani side for the South Africa Series in 2010. He made his comeback against South Africa with some good scores.
Against West Indies, he scored a sublime century and then a brilliant double hundred against Sri Lanka at United Arab Emirates (UAE). He yet another became a regular part of the Test squad as an opener.
He continued to play for Pakistan until Sri Lanka in 2012. After the series, he was dropped from the squad, until he later came back for a single test match in 2014 against New Zealand. Umar scored only 16 and 4 in the two innings and dropped from the squad after which he never staged a comeback.
