COVID-19: Former Pakistan first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfaraz passes away after testing positive for coronavirus

Former Pakistan first-class cricketer Zafar Sarfaraz has passed away after testing positive for COVID-19.The 50-year-old had been on a ventilator in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Peshawar for the last three days, ESPNCricinfo reported.

Sarfraz has become the first professional cricketer to succumb to COVID-19 in Pakistan.Sarfaraz had made his debut in 1988 and he 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 player Akhtar Sarfraz.Akhtar had passed away 10 months ago in the same city after a battle with colon cancer.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Peshawar, a city in the north of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has 744 of the nearly 5500 active cases in the country.Nearly 100 people have died from the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.