Covid-19 cases were reported in the Indian cricket team camp on Wednesday as three players – senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer – tested positive for the virus before the start of West Indies series in Ahmedabad.
The Indian team, to be led by Rohit Sharma, assembled in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies and were going through a three-day isolation period post their break from the South Africa series.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Mayank Agarwal to India’s ODI squad,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement. KL Rahul, it must be noted, is available only from second ODI.
Here’s the full statement from BCCI:
The members were asked to report in Ahmedabad on 31st January 2022 for the upcoming Paytm three-match ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. Every member was also asked to undergo an RT-PCR test at home before embarking on their journey to Ahmedabad and the travel was undertaken only after testing negative.
The detailed updates are as below:
1) Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Navdeep Saini’s (standby player) RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (January 31st) have returned positive results.
2) Fielding Coach T. Dilip and Security Liaison Officer B. Lokesh’s RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (January 31st) have returned positive results.
3) Batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad’s RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday (February 1st) has returned a positive result. He had tested negative during the first round of testing on Monday.
4) Batsman Shreyas Iyer and Sports Massage Therapist Rajeev Kumar’s RT-PCR tests conducted on Wednesday (February 2nd) have returned positive results. Both had tested negative in the first two rounds of testing.
The BCCI Medical team is handling the positive cases and they will remain in isolation till complete recovery is attained.
The series starts in Ahmedabad on February 6 with India’s 1000th ODI match but it is now expected that the trio will be missing the series as they will have to undergo a week-long isolation and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests.
Original ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), available only from second ODI), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!