The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday confirmed that 13 persons, including two cricketers, have tested positive for the COVID-19 in United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which set to be played there from September 19 to November 10.
Releasing an official statement, BCCI informed that members of all the squads were tested first when they landed in UAE and on the third and the sixth day of their six-day quarantine. It was during this testing procedures that the 13 positive results were detected.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 Season, which is scheduled to start from September 19th in the UAE,” BCCI said in the statement.
“Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme. Total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th across all participant groups in the UAE. These groups include Players, Support Staff, Team Management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, Hotel and ground transport Staff.
“13 personnel have tested positive of which 2 are players. All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL Medical Team.
“As per the IPL 2020 Health and Safety Protocols testing on all participants will be conducted regularly throughout the IPL 2020 Season,” the statement further read.
Even though the BCCI did not confirm which team the 13 coronavirus-positive personnel belong to, media reports from different sources state that all are from Chennai Super Kings.
Several media outlets reported on Friday that as many as 12 Chennai Super Kings squad members, including players and coaching/support staff, have tested positive for coronavirus.
A report carried by PTI has informed that another CSK player tested positive on Saturday, making the total number to 13. The same report even suggested that he was the second player to have tested positive.
All the members of the CSK franchise, who are there in Dubai, have been quarantined.