One more Chennai Super Kings player has tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the count of the positive-tested members of the three-time IPL champion team to 13, sources in the UAE told IANS on Saturday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued a statement saying, “13 personnel have tested positive of which 2 are players. All the affected personnel 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.”
The BCCI said it has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 Season, which is scheduled to start from September 19 in the UAE.
“Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme. 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,” the statement added.
In addition to the 13, CSK fans got another shocker as all-rounder Suresh Raina pulled out of the 13th edition of the IPL citing personal reasons, the team CEO KS Viswanathan announced on CSK twitter handle on Saturday morning.
Just when fans were trying to grasp the development, reports came in that one more CSK player has tested positive. "One more player tested positive. His name is not known, but I was told that one more player has tested positive. This is becoming scary here in the UAE. Other teams are also a little worried now," sources told IANS.
While CSK CEO KS Viswanathan tweeted about Raina, he did not say anything about the number of squad members who have tested positive. The CSK has not issued any statement either.
The IPL, which is generally held in the summer in India, had to be postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. It is now scheduled to be held between September 19 and November 10 in the UAE, but the BCCI has now announced the schedule of the matches.
Besides the CSK tweet, the real reason for Raina's return is not immediately known. The left-hander retired from international cricket along with former India captain and his friend, CSK skipper MS Dhoni, on August 15.