Shahid Afridi has been allowed to end his quarantine early and is now cleared to play Galle Gladiators’ opening Lanka Premier League (LPL) match against Jaffna Stallions on Friday.
Gladiators had initially believed Afridi would not be available for the franchise’s first two matches, because he only arrived in Sri Lanka Tuesday, following a missed flight the day before. But having had Covid-19 in June, Afridi took an antibody test soon after arrival. On Friday, the results from this test confirmed that Afridi had antibodies to the virus, and as such, is not at risk of spreading Covid-19.
Tournament director Ravin Wickramaratne confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Afridi had been cleared by the LPL’s medical staff following receipt of the results of the antibody test. Afridi had nevertheless completed three days of isolated quarantine while he awaited the result, but will now no longer be required to undergo the four further days of the less restrictive quarantine.
Afridi will now most likely captain the Gladiators through the course of the tournament, meaning Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was poised to lead in Afridi’s stead, will go back to being vice-captain. Afridi has not had a training session in Sri Lanka yet, but had played two PSL playoff matches in mid-November.
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