7 members from Bengal’s Ranji Trophy have been tested positive for Covid-19 which includes 6 players and one support staff member. According to a PTI report that seven people who are tested positive, are Sudip Chatterjee, Anustup Majumdar, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Geet Puri, Pradipta Pramanik, and Sujit Yadav along with the assistant coach Saurasish Lahiri.
The team was training ahead of the season as they were also scheduled to play a couple of warm-up games against Prithvi Shaw-led Mumbai. After this outbreak, their travel to Bengaluru is likely to be pushed back for a few days.
“The results have come out and it has been found that certain players had tested positive. The CAB is taking all precautions and actions in this regard,” CAB secretary Snehasish Ganguly said in a statement.
The Cricket Association of Bengal has called for an emergency meeting as all of their local tournaments have been cancelled.
“The meeting is to review the current Covid situation and take necessary decisions pertaining to holding of local tournaments (first division, second division, and district tournaments) at present,“CAB president Avishek Dalmiya said in a statement.
“CAB is also taking immediate steps to vaccinate the registered players who fall in the 15-18 age bracket since health and safety of cricketers and all concerned is paramount to the association,” he added further.
Shivam Dube also tested positive for Covid-19
Bengal is scheduled to play their first game against Tripura starting on January 13. They are placed in Group B with Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana, and Tripura. Notable that Ranji Trophy wasn’t played in last season due to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube along with their video analyst are also tested positive as both of them didn’t travel with the team to Kolkata. Sairaj Patil has been named as a replacement for Shivam Dube.
Mumbai will start its campaign against Maharashtra on January 13. Notable that Mumbai named a very young squad for the first two games as Prithvi Shaw will lead them for the first time in the longest format. The 22-year old led Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title last season.
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