Ever since the covid-19 outbreak in China started affecting the world, many sporting events across the globe were canceled or held behind closed doors. Cricket is no exception. Lots of tournaments and bilateral series were indefinitely postponed or called off.
When covid-19 cases decreased late last year, bio-bubbles were introduced and this enabled countries to conduct events. However, with all the traveling involved, players were bound to get infected and this ended up being the case.
Here are some of the Indian players who were infected with Covid-19:
Axar Patel
The Capitals’ left-arm tweaker, Axar, tested positive a few days before IPL was set to start. He was sent to isolate at a designated medical care facility where he was under the constant watch of Capitals’ medical team. Axar eventually recovered in time to play in IPL 2021.
Axar most recently played for India and made a praiseworthy start to his Test career in the absence of fellow Saurashtra player, Ravindra Jadeja, who got injured during the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
He played three of the four Tests in the series and picked up 27 wickets, which incidentally is the joint-most with Dilip Doshi for most wickets by an Indian in his maiden Test series. He will be part of the Indian team touring England in July 2021.
Sachin Tendulkar
The master blaster took to Twitter to announce that he had tested positive and was experiencing mild symptoms. Sachin also added that he was subject to home quarantine and was following the guidelines issued by the doctors. Sachin was last seen in action in the Road Safety World Series along with a few other Indian cricketing legends.
He struck a masterful 65 off 42 balls against WI Legends which brought back memories for the Indian fans at the stadium in Raipur. In the final, India Legends managed to beat Sri Lanka by 14 runs, with the help of the fifties from Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan, to lift the trophy.
Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy, belonging to the Kolkata Knight Riders camp, tested positive on May 3rd, which resulted in their match against RCB being rescheduled, on the day it was expected to be played in Ahmedabad. This subsequently ended up causing the IPL to be temporarily postponed.
The 29-year-old Varun recently stated, “I’m now doing well and recovering at home. I still haven’t been able to resume training full-tilt because of post-Covid-19 symptoms. Although I don’t have cough or fever, there is weakness and dizziness.”
Wriddhiman Saha
The second choice wicketkeeper for India recently tested positive. He had been selected in the Indian squad that is set to play the WTC Final and the England series subject to fitness tests. After the suspension of IPL, he had to stay back in New Delhi and serve his mandatory quarantine.
After successfully recovering from the infection, Saha cleared the fitness test and joined the Indian Cricket Team which is quarantining in Mumbai. The Indian team leaves for England on June 2nd from Mumbai on a charter flight. They’re set to face NZ in the WTC Final on June 18th at the Ageas Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Devdutt Padikkal
The rising star tested covid positive on March 22, ahead of joining the RCB squad for IPL 2021. The franchise stated that their medical team was in constant touch with Padikkal to ensure his safety and well-being.
After quarantining at home and getting two negative results, he caught up with the team in Chennai. In his first two matches for RCB, his fitness issues were apparent but he put that matter to rest with a blistering century in the third game against Rajasthan Royals.