Five Indian players, including captain Yash Dhul, were on Friday ruled out of the team’s final league match against Uganda in the Under-19 World Cup after testing positive for COVID-19 in the latest RT-PCR tests.
An ICC source told PTI that out of six players in isolation ahead of the match against Ireland on Wednesday, only all-rounder Vasu Vats tested negative.
The team, which has already qualified for the quarter-finals, is set to take on Uganda in the final Group B game in Tarouba, Trinidad on Saturday.
Captain Dhul, Aaradhya Yadav and Sheikh Rashid, who tested positive in the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), have returned positive in the RT-PCR test along with Manav Parakh, who tested negative in the RAT.
Siddharth Yadav had already tested positive in the RT-PCR test before Ireland’s game.
“One of the positives in this unfortunate situation is that 11 players who played against Ireland have tested negative,” an ICC source said.
Among the infected, Dhul has the worst symptoms, but he, along with other players, “should be fine” before their quarter-finals on 29 January, provided they top Group B.
India registered a thumping win over Ireland to qualify for the knockouts after barely fielding a team in the wake of the COVID outbreak in their camp.
All infected players undergo five days of isolation as per tournament protocol and can rejoin the team only after three test negative within that period.
How did the virus get into the bubble?
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After winning the Asia Cup in the UAE, the Indian team left for the Caribbean via Amsterdam. A support staff member, who is now well, had tested positive during tough quarantine upon arrival in Guyana after catching the infection and the players are believed to have contracted the virus from him.
The entire squad had to undergo a five-day rigorous quarantine in Guyana upon arrival and within that period underwent three RTPCR tests. However, with the test report taking up to 48 hours, the third test report was made available only on the seventh day.
“The players mingled with the coach in that period and it seems to be the most likely source of the outbreak in the team,” the source said.
It is also learned that the bio-bubble of the tournament could be tougher with the team not being allotted a dedicated floor in the hotel as it was the Asia Cup in the UAE.
However, despite a tight bubble in Dubai, the virus managed to enter the environment and a league game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had to be abandoned after two officials involved in the game tested positive.
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