A few India players and members of the support staff have tested positive for Covid-19 at their camp in Ahmedabad ahead of the upcoming limited-overs series against the West Indies. The Team India members who have contracted the virus are in quarantine. Further updates from the BCCI medical staff are awaited at the moment.
Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad and batter Shreyas Iyer are among the players who have tested positive for Covid-19, India Today understands.
BCCI has decided to conduct a fresh round of Covid testing on Thursday morning before deciding on the next course of action.
India’s players arrived in Ahmedabad earlier this week while West Indies players reached the city earlier in the day.
India play 3 ODIs in Ahmedabad against the West Indies from Sunday, February 6. The two teams also play a 3-match T20I series in Kolkata from February 16.
Notably, the selectors had named an 18-member squad led by Rohit Sharma for the 3-match series which will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Initially, the BCCI had chosen Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram as the Venus for the ODI and T20I series. However, the board reduced the venues and allocated the ODIs to Ahmedabad and the T20Is to Kolkata to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection among the camp.
NO FANS FOR ODI SERIES AT NARENDRA MODI STADIUM
The Gujarat Cricket Association earlier this week confirmed that fans won’t be allowed to watch the matches from the stands at the Narendra Modi Stadium due to the Omicron threat in the country.
However, the Cricket Association of Bengal said that Eden Gardens will have a maximum of 70 percent attendance for the T20I series.
CAB president Avishek Dalmiya thanked the West Bengal government for allowing fans to attend the T20I series. Notably, Kolkata hosted the third T20I of New Zealand’s tour of India last year with Eden Gardens operating at 50 percent capacity.
“We are thankful to the honorable Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, chief secretary and Government of West Bengal for announcing the resumption of sporting activities as well as for allowing 75 per cent of the capacity of spectators back to the stadium,” Avishek said in a statement .