After much speculation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially released a statement that over 13 personnel, including two players, have tested positive of the infectious coronavirus in the UAE. However, the board has revealed neither the name of players nor the IPL franchise’s name as to who have confirmed cases.
As per reports, the two players belong to Chennai Super Kings’s Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Also, the remaining affected members belong to CSK.
Earlier, a source close to BCCI had stated that one of the senior-most officials of the CSK management, an official’s wife, and at least two members of their social media team was also COVID-19 positive. There are a couple of net bowlers who have also tested positive.
BCCI, in its official statement, has stated all the CVODI-19 positive personnel and the ones who were close contact to them have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL Medical Team
“13 personnel have tested positive of which 2 are players. All the affected person as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL Medical Team,” BCCI wrote in official statement.
IPL 2020: 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out – BCCI
The Indian Board informed that soon after landing in the UAE, all the participant groups, including players, support staff, team management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, hotel and ground transport Staff, were tested. A total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th.
“A total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th across all participant groups in the UAE. These groups include Players, Support Staff, Team Management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, Hotel and ground transport Staff,” BCCI added.
Meanwhile, the franchises have started training sessions in the UAE but CSK would postpone their training session. According to the BCCI’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), all those who test positive are set to go through an additional 14-day quarantine.
And after testing negative twice for the virus, they will be allowed to join the bio-secure bubble. So, following all the procedures, CSK’s training camp is expected to start from the first week of September, as per the sources.
Meanwhile, the tournament is slated to start from 19th September but the schedule of the much-awaited league is yet to be announced.