Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad along with 11 other members of the Chennai Super Kings camp have been tested positive for Covid-19. It is reported that the pacer has to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, post which he will have to be tested negative twice in a gap of 24 hours each, following which he will be allowed to enter the Biosecure zone.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have assured that they are taking all the possible safety measures for the players and all to conduct the tournament smoothly and have assured there is no immediate threat to the commencement of IPL on the scheduled date.
The BCCI had earlier cautioned the franchises of the risks of conducting the training camps in India as the number of cases in the country have been soaring. CSK were the only team that underwent a camp in India before their trip to UAE.
“All it needs is one asymptomatic carrier and this (situation) could have happened to any team”. There are many players who were coming from a long lay-off. The likes of MS Dhoni, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina had played very little cricket even before the lockdown in March. That’s why CSK insisted on having the camp, to have a few extra days under their belt. It is difficult but the entire team is on the same page. We know we are in a position to absorb this delay and take it in our stride,”a CSK spokesperson reported.
The CSK management also believes they can conduct the matches as per the schedule and have not made any request to the Board on postponing the matches. The source also reported the management is taking all the efforts to keep the players focused and doing the best possible fitness regimes in their rooms.
“As far as we know, we are playing on September 19 and that’s how we are preparing mentally.The team is also unable to use the gymnasium, and players are trying to do whatever they can inside their rooms. The support staff, too, is staying in touch with players on Zoom calls. The camp in Chennai helped the players regain some fitness. Now we are only hoping that no one else tests positive in the next few tests,” the source added.
Further the IPL health advisory reported that they have started the contact tracing and will be following all the protocols strictly to ensure safety.
“Contact tracing must commence at the earliest. All casual contacts will undergo an RT-PCR test immediately while close contacts will be closely monitored and tested over the next 5 days. The Covid positive individuals have to be immediately isolated in a “designated isolation zone”, with the advisory adding: “As soon as the individual is stable, they should be transferred out of the Bio-Secure Environment into the isolation facility.”- reported the IPL health advisor
In further development to events It was reported on Saturday morning that Chennai Super Kings Star batsman Suresh Raina will not be participating in the tournament due to some personal reasons and has already returned to India. The news was confirmed by the CSK CEO KS Viswanathan.
https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL/status/1299582504886775808
The IPL was moved out of India only for the second time as the number of the cases have been soaring in India from the last few months. Both Sri Lanka and UAE came forward as the hosts but UAE was given the green light.
Cover Credits: IPLT20
