After three of their non-playing members from the Chennai Super Kings side tested positive for COVID-19, the franchise is understood to have told the BCCI that they won’t play their next match against Rajasthan Royals in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The CSK camp aren’t keen on taking the field before everyone who came in contact with those who tested positive cleared 3 tests over a 6-day period, as per Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) of the IPL, according to Indian Express.
In this 6-day period, CSK are scheduled to play Rajasthan Royals on 5 May and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 7 May.
“The coach is asymptomatic. However, as per the BCCI’s Covid protocols, everybody who has come in contact with him will have to undergo a six-day quarantine. We can’t play our next game (against Rajasthan Royals). The BCCI knows about the testing protocols and how many tests need to become negative before an all-clear is given. We have communicated it to the BCCI. They will have to reschedule the game between CSK and Rajasthan Royals,” a CSK official told The Indian Express.
Already the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday, 3 April has been rescheduled with a date yet to be fixed.
Given that L Balaji was very much part of the team meetings and present in the dugout in the game against Mumbai Indians, it makes the defending champions vulnerable too. Along with Balaji, the CSK CEO K Viswanathan and a bus cleaner had tested positive after Sunday’s round of testing.
The BCCI on their part is in talks with medical experts too as they look to strengthen the bio-bubble, adding tougher restrictions for everyone involved.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)