New Delhi, (Samajweekly) At least five to six members of the Indian squad including cricketers — Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad — have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the beginning of the ODI series against West Indies.
According to sources, Iyer, Dhawan and Gaikwad’s results came on Wednesday evening after the entire squad underwent a mandatory RT-PCR test before joining the bubble in Ahmedabad.
It has been learnt that apart from players a few support staff members have also tested positive. However, a formal statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still awaited.
Notably, the Indian team has been staying in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Ahmedabad since Monday, when they were asked to assemble. The team is to undergo three-day quarantine before the practice sessions kick off.
The quarantine period entered its third day on Wednesday and the team would have started practising from Thursday, but there is no clarity now if the practice would indeed start as scheduled.
The Indian team has a large contingent (of about 26 members, including net bowlers) and so there seems to be no imminent threat to the series overall.
Meanwhile, the West Indies team, which reached Ahmedabad on Wednesday morning, is also put up in the same hotel as India, and so are the match officials.
Teams are scheduled to play the first of three ODIs at the Narendra Modi Stadium on February 6. The ODI leg will be followed by three T20Is, which are scheduled to take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
India’s current squad for West Indies ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan
