Coronavirus: Former Pakistan first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfaraz dies of Covid-19 in Peshawar

Peshawar, April 14: Former Pakistan first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfaraz became the first professional cricketer in the country to succumb after testing positive for the novel coronavirus pandemic.

As per an ESPNCricinfor report, the 50-year-old, Zafar Sarfaraz, had been on a ventilator in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Peshawar for the last three days. He made his debut in 1988 and went on to score 616 runs from 15 first-class games for Peshawar.

He also managed to score 96 runs from six one-day games before retiring in 1994. He then took up the role of coaching both the senior and the Under-19 Peshawar teams in the mid-2000s.

Zafar was the brother of Pakistan international cricketer Akhtar Sarfraz. Akhtar had passed away 10 months ago after a battle with colon cancer.

Pakistan's coronavirus cases have reached 5,374 with 334 new infections reported, taking the death toll in the country to 93, health officials said. The Ministry of National Health Services reported that 1,095 people had recovered fully, but 44 are still in critical condition. The number of coronavirus cases on Monday reached 5,374 with 334 new patients added during the last 24 hours, it said.

Seven more people died during this period, taking the total toll in Pakistan to 93, it added. According to the ministry data, Punjab has 2,594 cases, Sindh 1,411, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 744, Balochistan 230, Gilgit-Baltistan 224, Islamabad 131 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 40 patients. So far, 65,114 tests have been carried out, including 3,233 during the last 24 hours, the data showed.