A member of Indian cricket team support staff, also a part of BCCI‘s medical committee in the UAE for IPL 2020, has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus and been isolated. The latest development takes the total number of confirmed infections in IPL to 14 now.
According to several media outlets, the staff member is “asymptomatic”.
The news comes days after BCCI confirmed that 13 members of Chennai Super Kings contingent including two cricketers Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested positive for the deadly virus. The 13th season of the IPL is scheduled to get underway from September 19 in the UAE but the BCCI is yet to release fixtures which has added to the apprehensions surrounding the league.
All the eight franchises and majority of their squad though have landed in the UAE and began practising.
The confirmed cases though have put a big question mark over the participation of overseas cricketers, especially from West Indies, Australia and England.
West Indies cricketers are currently taking part in the Caribbean Premier League while Australia is on a limited-overs tour of England which kicks off from Friday.
Josh Hazlewood, part of CSK squad, has already expressed his concerns. “Obviously there’s a bit of concern there,” Hazlewood said. “Ideally would have been great had there been no cases. They (the affected) are in quarantine now and I think that finishes up in next few days.”
He said the players will seek Cricket Australia’s advice regarding their IPL participation.
Even New Zealand captain and Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Kane Willimason has called for more vigilance.
Meanwhile, UAE reported its biggest spike in COVID-19 infections since May 27, reporting that around 735 new positive cases have been confirmed.
The middle-east nation seemed to have flatten the curve after reporting 883 cases – its biggest tally in a single day – in May but in the last few days, the graph has started rising again.
