RCB’s Virat Kohli arrived for IPL practice wearing a mask. (Twitter/@ImTanujSingh)
According to IPL officials, Covid-positive players can participate only after submitting consecutive negative test results
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has decided to exercise extreme caution in its COVID-19 policy and has made it mandatory for players to test positive. corona virus Will undergo a week-long isolation before re-joining their respective franchises. In this context, IPL is sticking to its 2022 policy. Also, players who test positive can participate in matches or training only after submitting consecutive negative test results. The earliest a player can undergo such a test is on the fifth day of recovery.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the IPL medical guidelines stated, “Though there has been a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, we still need to be mindful of the emerging strains, which are becoming a concern at regular intervals.” Are.” Positive cases should be isolated for a maximum of seven days. Positive cases will not be allowed to participate in any match or any kind of activity/event during the period of isolation.
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“From the fifth day onwards, they can undergo RT-PCR provided they remain asymptomatic for 24 hours without any medication. Once the first result is negative, a second test should be done at an interval of 24 hours. They can rejoin the group only after receiving two negative RT-PCR tests at a gap of 24 hours i.e. on the fifth and sixth day,” the medical guidelines said. The guidelines were distributed to IPL franchises last week.
Importantly, COVID testing will be conducted only for those who show symptoms of having the disease and not for those who are asymptomatic. Those who continue to give positive test results after the seventh day will not be allowed to join their franchise without submitting two negative test results obtained at an interval of 12 hours.
This year, for the first time since IPL 2019, the old home-away format will be played across India. Also, there will be no bio-secure bubble from which the teams will have to work. The 2020 edition was held entirely in the UAE. The IPL returned to India in 2021 under strict COVID restrictions, but a second wave of the pandemic resulted in several players and support staff members testing positive, forcing the tournament to be moved again to the UAE. The 2022 edition was held in a bio-secure environment only in a few cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.
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IPL’s stand regarding COVID is more stringent than many other sports authorities who have allowed players to participate in events despite being COVID positive. In August last year, Australia woman Tahila McGrath played against India in last year’s Commonwealth Games T20 final in Birmingham despite being Covid positive. She was the first player to do so.
Then in the World T20 last year, Australia’s men’s team’s Matthew Wade, who had tested COVID positive, was retained in the squad for a group game against England in Melbourne. Fellow Australian Matt Renshaw went on to play against South Africa in Sydney in January this year despite testing COVID positive before the toss.
India on Sunday (March 19) recorded an increase of 526 active COVID cases, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Given the dire situation the country had to go through, especially during the first two waves of the pandemic, it is entirely appropriate for the IPL officials to be extra careful. Now it will be interesting to see if similar restrictions are followed for the ICC World Cup to be held in India later this year.
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