Bizarre isolation protocol for Alex Hales in the PSL grabs attention

A strange Covid protocol adopted in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 came to light on Thursday (February 23), where Islamabad United’s comeback man Alex Hales funnily celebrated a wicket without his teammates.

Hales returned to the United colours for the Eliminator 1 against Peshawar Zalmi and scored a priceless 62 in his team’s victory to progress one step closer to the PSL final. The England right-hander struck 6 fours and 3 sixes in his magnificent innings.

But on the day, it’s not just the batter’s batting exploits that caught everyone’s attention but also for a bizarre pandemic-based rule that he had to deal with. Alex Hales was seen celebrating a team breakthrough in isolation from his teammates.

WATCH: Haris Rauf Slaps PSL Teammate During Celebration For Dropping A Catch Earlier

Alex Hales had left the PSL 2022 a weak earlier citing bubble fatigue.

Alex Hales faces strange pandemic rule upon PSL return

For those unaware, Alex Hales’ immediate return to the PSL bubble and United jersey has been made possible by a late amendment to the tournament’s health safety protocols amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

As per the earlier rule, Hales would’ve had to enter an elongated quarantine phase upon his comeback to Pakistani shores. But the tweak in the rules allowed the 33-year-old to take the field only a day after he tested negative for the virus. But that is with a few caveats.

The most important being that he couldn’t mingle with his teammates at all times. Forced to stay apart from the rest of United players, Alex Hales will not have access to the team’s dressing room, he will be staying in a separate hotel and also travel to the stadium via separate means of transport.

This rule led to bizarre scenes on the field as Hales could bat and field with his teammates but couldn’t mix with them during innings break and strategic timeouts. The experienced cricketer made a joke about it himself with a post over Instagram.

Alex Hales' Instagram Story

Hales made a surprise return to the PSL after leaving last week citing bubble fatigue.

This was part of amendments made to the safety protocols and approved before we saw it in action last night. #PSL2022 #IUvPZ pic.twitter.com/4u61sZO4U1

— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) February 25, 2022

Alex Hales’ case is not the first time where necessarily implemented Covid protocols have led to a strange incident. Recently, during the Big Bash League (BBL) 2022, West Indies allrounder Andre Russell also couldn’t immediately mix with his teammates even though he took the field with them for Melbourne Stars.