Shahid Afridi says he's slowly getting better

Lahore: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, has provided an update about his health, saying first two-three days were tough but his condition is gradually improving.

Last week, Afridi had announced on Twitter that he has tested positive for novel coronavirus.

In a latest Facebook video, Afridi has said: "I wanted to make this video as I have been hearing a lot about my health on social media since the past few days. First two-three days were really tough for me but my condition has been improving since then."

"The biggest difficulty for me is that I am unable to take care of my children and hug them. I miss my children. But it is important to take precautions and maintain distance to keep others safe around you.

"There is no need to panic about this. Till the time you yourself don't fight a disease, you cannot beat it," he added while urging people to take precautions.

Afridi further said he knew he would be at risk of catching the virus as he had been travelling a lot for the charity work. "I knew I would catch COVID-19 as I was travelling a lot for charity work. Thankfully, it happened late else I would not have been able to help a lot of people," he said.

"Thank you for all your well wishes. It gives me immense pleasure to know that I have so many people praying for me in Pakistan and outside Pakistan," he added.

Afridi also called upon people to help the poor and needy in these trying times.

Earlier, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir also wished Afridi a speedy recovery from coronavirus.

"Nobody should be infected with this virus. I have political differences with Shahid Afridi but I want him to recover as soon as possible," Gambhir told the media.

"But more than Afridi I want every person infected in my country to get well as soon as possible," he added.