The IPL clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore had to be postponed after Varun Chakaravarthy and Sandeep Warrier from KKR were found positive in the third round of COVID testing. To contribute towards relief, the rest of the squad was tested negative.
KKR’s medical team has maintained a constant form of update from the two of them, as they are isolated ever since, so as to monitor their health. Meanwhile, Kolkata has now turned to a daily testing regime in order to detect any other potential cases and neutralize them at the earliest. Close contacts of the two players who fall in the 48-hour window of sample collection are being looked for.
Not long after the KKR players’ news emerged, Chennai Super Kings stepped forward with similar information. Club CEO Kasi Viswanathan, along with bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji and a bus cleaner have been deemed COVID-19 positive. The rest of the squad including all the players, who are currently in Delhi, have been determined to be negative for the virus.
CSK, who saw defeat in their last game by 4 wickets against Mumbai, are set to go up against Rajasthan Royals without a prominent dugout figure in L Balaji on Wednesday. Chennai Super Kings have had an exuberant start to their season with 5 wins from 7 games and will be expecting their personnel back in action soon for their upcoming clashes.
In light of the five active COVID cases on headlines, a mention goes to the other recent players who have their share of experiences of recovery from a COVID-19 infection. The list includes Nitish Rana from KKR, who had to extend his quarantine another 12 days; Anrich Nortje of Delhi Capitals along with teammate Axar Patel gets the mention. Devdutt Padikkal and Daniel Sams from RCB also joined the list after being exposed to the disease in quick succession.