The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has moved Wednesday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) game between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings from Pune to Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai due to multiple COVID-19 cases in the Delhi camp.
Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, in a statement released on Tuesday confirmed that the change of venue was necessitated “to avoid any further incident due to any undetected case during a long-distance bus journey in a closed environment”.
The Hindu understands that the Delhi Capitals squad, which has been confined to their respective rooms since Monday morning, will train in an optional session on Tuesday evening.
Shah added: “The change of venue has been triggered due to five COVID-19 positive cases in the Delhi Capitals contingent.” The Hindu on Monday had reported five cases in the Capitals’ biosecure bubble having been confirmed.
“From April 16th, the entire Delhi Capitals contingent has been put under a daily RT-PCR testing procedure. The fourth round of RT-PCR tests conducted on April 19 have returned negative,” stated Shah. “The Delhi Capitals contingent will undergo another round of RT-PCR testing on the morning of April 20.”
The five members who have contracted COVID-19 have been identified as physiotherapist Patrick Farhart (diagnosed on April 15), masseur Chetan Kumar (April 16), allrounder Mitchell Marsh, team doctor Dr. Abhijit Salvi and social media content team member Akash Mane (all on April 18) .
While Marsh is under observation in a south Mumbai hospital, others are quarantined in their respective rooms. After serving a five-day quarantine, should these members test negative on day 6 and 7, they will be allowed to re-enter the bubble.
