PSL 2022 | Alex Hales leaves tournament midway for personal reasons

English star opener Alex Hales has decided to pull out of the remainder of the Pakistan Super League for personal reasons. The update comes as a big blow to Islamabad United who were very much dependent on Hales and Ireland Paul Stirling for an explosive start. The two right handers had struck a chord and have done fairly well for the franchise - especially Hales who is at the moment the fifth-highest run-getter in the tournament.

This is a double jolt for Islamabad considering they had to let go of Stirling for his national commitments in Oman where he is playing the Quadrangular series and it was Hales who had been the more dominant attacker partnering with Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

It needs to be mentioned that two days ago Hales was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and with the chances of playing in the first XI there, he would have been looking at a long bio-bubble tenure that could possibly have been extended till June 1.

Several reports in the Pakistan media suggested that Hales has chosen to leave the tournament over bubble fatigue but nothing has been made official yet.

In his absence, Islamabad would probably be pairing Gurbaz with New Zealander Colin Munro.