India have been dealt a severe blow four days ahead of the ODI series against West Indies with at least six cricketers testing COVID-19 positive. The team is currently in quarantine in Ahmedabad as they get ready for the limited-overs series against West Indies.
All those who have tested positive have been moved to a different floor in the hotel and are in isolation. There is no immediate information on who are the members that have returned a positive test, but it’s understood that it could be a mix of players and support staff members.
“Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Navdeep Saini’s (standby player) RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (January 31st) have returned positive results,” BCCI said in a statement released on Wednesday night.
“Fielding Coach T. Dilip and Security Liaison Officer B. Lokesh’s RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (January 31st) have returned positive results. Batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad’s RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday (February 1st) has returned a positive result. He had tested negative during the first round of testing on Monday.”
“Shreyas Iyer and Sports Massage Therapist Rajeev Kumar’s RT-PCR tests conducted on Wednesday (February 2nd) have returned positive results. Both had tested negative in the first two rounds of testing,” it added.
It is learned that the BCCI medical team has decided to carry out a further round of tests on Thursday before taking the next step. The entire West Indies contingent, on the other hand, has tested negative for the novel coronavirus.
Cricbuzz quoted a top official as saying:
“We were all negative before we left Barbados. And all negative on our arrival tests at the airport yesterday in Ahmedabad. We are in room isolation on a separate floor to the Indian team as per the protocols.”
Mayank Agarwal added to India’s ODI squad
JUST IN: Mayank Agarwal has been added to the Indian ODI squad.
— Venkata Krishna B (@venkatatweets) February 2, 2022
The top-order batsman from Karnataka, Mayank Agarwal has been drafted to India’s ODI squad in the aftermath of a couple of COVID-19 positive cases in the Indian camp.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Mayank Agarwal to India’s ODI squad after seven members, including three players of Team India (Senior Men) tested positive for COVID-19 following three rounds of RT-PCR testing,” BCCI said in a statement.
Mayank has so far played 5 ODIs and has scored 86 runs with the best score of 32. He is expected to join the squad as early as possible in Ahmedabad.
The ODI series is set to be played behind closed doors, with India currently experiencing a third wave of the pandemic. India recorded over 160,000 fresh cases on Tuesday, with the state of Gujarat, where Ahmedabad is located, reporting over 8000 of them.
The series will be the first to feature Rohit Sharma, who has recovered from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the recent tour of South Africa, as India’s full-time ODI captain.
