IPL 2020: 13 members of Chennai Super Kings contingent including an Indian pacer is tested positive for Covid-19 in Dubai. ESPNcricinfo understands that there is only one player among those who tested positive, and the rest of them include members of the support staff and some network pitchers.
Chennai Super kings to postpone their training
Now this made the Super Kings postpone its training starting date to September 1. According to IPL’s Permanent Operating Procedures (SOPs), everyone who tested positive will now need to undergo at least two weeks of quarantining and clearing two more tests before they can rejoin the group.
Now we can understand that the positive test results are from the final round of testing in the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the IPL Covid-19 protocols, which comprise three tests that are mandatory for everyone who is part of the tournament. Under the protocol, all people would be tested at the airport upon landing in the United Arab Emirates, followed by three tests on days 1, 3, and 6. The protocol also requires everyone to undergo a six-day quarantine after landing where they aren’t supposed to even mingle with team members or colleagues. Only after team members pass all mandatory tests can teams begin their training.
According to the original schedule, Chennai Super Kings would have started their training on Friday. However, their preparations are now in disarray. So far, both the franchise and the IPL has not made any public comment.
The IPL will begin on September 19, but the schedule has yet to be finalized. The development is sure to put the IPL on alert simply because the Super Kings, who finished runners-up in 2019, is expected to face the defending champions of the Mumbai Indians in the first tournament.
Chennai Super Kings underwent a 6-days conditioning camp in Chennai including an Indian contingent and after that, they landed in Dubai. That group included most of the senior Indian players on the team, including captain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, and Piyush Chawla.
What happens next?
According to the tournament’s SOPs, those who test positive must be “immediately isolated from the rest of the team.” The SOPs also says that “contact tracing” must “begin immediately.”
If the person is “asymptomatic or has mild symptoms,” then they should be isolated outside the biosecure bubble for two weeks from the “first day of symptoms or a positive PCR test report, whichever is later.”
The individual is also unable to train during the 14 day isolation period and full rest is recommended. If symptoms worsen, you will be transferred to a tournament accredited hospital.
After involving the isolations, the affected player must undergo two negative PCR test with 24 hours apart and and after that cardiac screening will be held for the player. If he passes all, he will be allowed to resume team activities.