UK tour bound Indian cricketers advised to take only Covishield shots

After an untimely end to the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to the coronavirus outbreak inside the bio-secure environment that the league was being played in, the Indian cricketers have got a bit of a breather before they take up their next assignment in the UK, where they will be against New Zealand in the much-anticipated World Test Championship final, to be played at Southampton from June 18 to 22.

Meanwhile, India, which is suffering from a deadly second wave of the coronavirus driven by a new mutant, has already begun mass drives of vaccination, with two doses being administered to each individual with a gap of a month in between.

There were plans in place for vaccinating all the IPL players while they were participating in the league to ensure their security and the smooth conduction of the league, however, with the midway cancellation, that is no longer remains an option. With all the players out of the IPL bubble created by the BCCI, they now need to get vaccinated individually in their respective localities. Though, it has been advised that the players should get a dose of Covishield vaccine, and not Covaxin.

The suggestion has come for all the cricketers travelling to the United Kingdom for the WTC final and England tour as they have less than a month before they leave India, and taking the second dose of the vaccine in India would not be possible for them. Notably, anyone who has gotten a Covaxin shot is supposed to get the second shot of the same vaccine. However, since Covishield is based on Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine (a UK product), the Indian cricketers bound for the UK tour are advised to take Covishield shots so they can get the second jab during the England series.

Players will do it individually: Sourav Ganguly

“It is advised that they take Covishield in India because it is based on the AstraZeneca vaccine, a UK product. They may get the second shot in the UK. Getting a different vaccine [Covaxin] here is of no use,” a source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Meanwhile, the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was asked if the board has any vaccination plans for the players. Speaking to Indian Express, he said: “Now that they have time [due to the cancellation of IPL], they will do it individually since the [state] governments are getting the vaccinations done. They all go to their respective homes, so it’s an easier option that way.”