Setback for Delhi as another squad member tests COVID positive

In a massive blow to Delhi ahead of their game against Chennai on May 8, a member of the team has been tested positive for COVID19. This isn’t the first team a player from the team has been tested for the deadly disease. Last month, hours ahead of their game against Punjab, Mitchell Marsh and Tim Siefert were tested positive for the disease.

However, they weren’t the only ones from the team to be infected. Before the duo, team physio Patrick Farhart, sports massage therapist Chetan Kumar, team doctor Abhijit Salvi, and social media content Akash Mane were tested positive. Apart from them, a family member of head coach Ricky Ponting was also tested positive which is why the head coach was isolated.

For the unversed, Ponting’s family member tested ahead of the team’s game against Rajasthan two weeks ago. Notably, their games against Punjab and Rajasthan went ahead according to the schedule although the venue was changed for the Punjab game. The game was meant to be played in Pune but was shifted to Mumbai to avoid any further infection. On the other hand, the Rajasthan game went ahead on the same venue in Mumbai.

The team displayed an all-around performance against Punjab as they beat them by a huge margin. On the other hand, the Men In Blue and Red lost to the 2008 winners. Coming back to the fresh case, the name of the player hasn’t been revealed either by the Indian T20 League governing council or the BCCI. The players have been asked to isolate in their rooms and another round of testing will be conducted.

According to the protocols, if a player tests positive, they need to isolate for at least for seven days. They can rejoin the team only if they test negative for two consecutive times within 24 hours after the isolation period. It will be interesting to see whether the game goes ahead or not.