Former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who has been away from cricket since July 2019, is currently in Ranchi where he has been part of a few training sessions to prepare for IPL 2020. As reported by The Times of India, Dhoni, along with his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate Monu Kumar, has given his Covid test sample on Wednesday.
A senior executive of MicroPraxis Labs, a part of Guru Nanak Hospital and Research centre authorised to conduct RT-PCR tests for Covid-19, confirmed to TOI about collecting the samples from Dhoni’s farmhouse.
“A team of our lab staff was sent to Dhoni’s farmhouse in Simlaiya area to collect the samples of the two cricketers around 2pm. The samples have been sent for testing and the result will be known on Thursday,” he said.
Both Dhoni and Kumar will leave for Chennai on August 14 if they are tested negative. The Yellow Army is expected to leave for the UAE on August 22.
There have been two COVID-19 cases in IPL franchises over the past couple of weeks. While Rajasthan Royals fielding coach Dishant Yagnik has gone into isolation after testing positive for the virus on August 12, Kings XI Punjab batsman Karun Nair had also tested positive for the virus but has now completely recovered ahead of the 13th edition.
As per the protocols issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), two negative tests are mandatory for each player before the franchises reach UAE. Anybody who tests positive will have to be quarantined for 14 days and will have to undergo two tests post that. Only if both the tests are negative, the individuals will be allowed to leave for the UAE.
As per the protocols of players reaching UAE, there will be more tests done on the players while all eight franchises will have to stay within the bio-secure bubbles.
“After arrival in UAE, there will be tests on Day 1, 3 and 6 with testing every fifth day throughout the tournament. After the third negative test, team members may be allowed to meet each other within the Bio-Secure Environment. However, wearing a face mask and social distancing protocols must be followed at all times,” the protocols say.
