Reports: IPL 2021 to go as per schedule despite COVID-19 scare

The first phase of IPL 2021 came amid all the troubles when COVID-19 cases started popping up across camps and BCCI ultimately had to call off the league in May. The second phase of the IPL 2021 is on in the UAE and it seems some trouble has started cornering the current phase too. On September 22, ahead of SRH vs DC clash, Indian pacer T Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19.

However, the game went forward as all the other members of the SRH squad tested negative. In the same light, organizers believe that there is no need to panic as of now and the UAE phase will be completed successfully. As soon as the reports of Natarajan came positive, his six closed contacts were immediately isolated. It has to be noted that the GPS mechanism is not in a place like IPL 2020 but BCCI has placed bubble-integrity managers for each team.

They trace the moment of players and also traced Natarajan’s closed contacts in a quick span of time. According to a statement given by BCCI earlier, all-rounder Vijay Shankar and net bowler G Periyaswamy were sent into isolation for being in close touch with Natarajan. The other members happen to be staff members of SRH.

All the loose ends are covered as per reports

It is to be noted that all the players took a charter flight to reach the UAE and underwent a mandatory quarantine while Natarajan took the commercial route and it is believed that he would have contracted the virus midway. The SRH vs DC match was played as per the schedule and Delhi won the game by eight wickets.

“During the Indian leg, it was possible for the outsiders to come in contact with the players or use the common areas in the hotel. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, teams are kept in a separate wing and the public have no access to the bio-secure area. All the loose ends are covered. A thorough check was done to identify if there were any breaches,” said an IPL official in the know of developments as quoted by The Indian Express.