181201 Alex Hales 2
Alex Hales Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News Archives

Dubai: England batsman Alex Hales is keeping healthy after undergoing isolation in Birmingham. according to Salman Iqbal. The owner of the Karachi Kings team revealed how Hales happened to be talked about as the reason behind the suspension of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on account of him being suspected of coronavirus symptoms.

Speaking to Gulf News, Iqbal said: “In the United Kingdom, no one will be treated unless you have severe symptoms. People with mild symptoms are asked to go into isolation. When Hales reached England, and when he thought he had symptoms of the virus, I tried to send my doctor to him in Birmingham but couldn’t as we had to follow the government norms. We are happy that after the isolation, he is now healthy and fine.”

Salman Iqbal
Salman Iqbal

Hales felt he may have contracted the virus because he developed a fever and had a dry and persistent cough.

The Hales incident surfaced again after Iqbal had remarked about the incident in BBC’s ‘The Doosra Podcast’. Hales is said to have texted him about the symptoms before leaving for England. “It was two o’clock in the morning in Pakistan and we had a message from Alex Hales saying: ‘Boss, I have symptoms of COVID-19 and I think you should all get tested,” revealed Iqbal.

Iqbal then spoke about his discussion with team coach Dean Jones. “I then got a call from coach Dean Jones saying he wanted to meet straight away. We were all scared. If you have the symptoms, you have to be isolated. In the end, we had to get everyone in the team tested. All of them started panicking and we postponed the tournament the next day.”