‘Humbled by all the love’ – Shikhar Dhawan to well-wishers after testing Covid-19 positive
Shikhar Dhawan (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP)
It was earlier reported that several members of the Indian team had tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the limited-overs series against the West Indies. The BCCI had announced on Wednesday that Shikhar Dhawan was among the seven members who tested positive after arriving in Ahmedabad for the three-match ODI series against the Windies. The first one-dayer is all set to commence on December 6.
However, a few players from the Asian side would be unavailable for the first of the three 50-over games. Them being Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer. Even Navdeep Saini, who was a standby player, has contacted the virus.
The others who tested positive for the deadly virus were three members of the support staff. Thus, all of them are in isolation and will be monitored by the medical team of the BCCI. In the meanwhile, the Indian opener took to Twitter to give an update on his health.
https://twitter.com/SDhawan25/status/1489165095850549248
First ODI to be played behind closed doors
“Thank you everyone for your wishes. I’m doing fine and humbled by all the love that’s come my way,” read Shikhar Dhawan’s Tweet. It is to be noted that all members of the Indian team were asked to undergo RT-PCR tests, and were allowed to travel to Ahmedabad only after they returned with a negative test.
Thus, Mayank Agarwal has been added to the 50-over squad. In the meanwhile, the first ODI against the Pollard-led side is going to be India’s 1000th one-dayer. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly thus rued the fact that the fans couldn’t witness this iconic match live in the stadium.
“I was the captain of India in the 500th ODI (against England at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street on July 4, 2002). It is a big moment for Indian cricket, but unfortunately, the match will be played without a crowd. The series, too, will be played in empty stadiums. It could have been done in a much better way had there been no Covid-19, but you cannot help it,” said Ganguly while speaking to sportsstar.
