IPL 2020: BCCI member tests positive in UAE?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India took a huge risk by moving this year’s IPL to the UAE. Despite the strict protocols put in place, the dreaded coronavirus found its way into the unit that travelled from India. As many as 13 members of the Chennai Super Kings camp tested positive for coronavirus last week. Now, the latest reports suggest a member of the BCCI has contracted Covid-19 in the UAE.
As per a report published in the Times of India, it is understood that the infected member of BCCI’s support staff is also on the board’s medical committee. He has now been moved to a quarantine facility and isolated from the rest of the members.
The IPL is slated to begin on September 19 but the BCCI is yet to release the full schedule of matches. Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the CSK camp, the board has said it will be ‘flexible’ in the scheduling of matches. Two of the 13 members who contracted the virus were players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad. If true, the total number of cases has now gone up to 14. Somewhere, there have been apprehensions around playing IPL in a ‘biosecure’ environment.
Several overseas players, including Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson have expressed their concerns. While the latter is already on his way to the UAE, Hazlewood will take a final call after consulting Cricket Australia. Meanwhile, Aussie pacer Kane Richardson opted out of the tournament owing to the birth of his first child. But Richardson was also wary of the risks of travelling in such circumstances. This further prompted him to make the decision.
