Covid-hit Delhi Capitals to not travel to Pune; will play IPL match at Brabourne

Mumbai : The Indian Premier League (IPL) game between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings scheduled for Wednesday has been shifted from the MCA Stadium in Pune to Brabourne-CCI in Mumbai due to a number of Covid-positive cases in the Delhi franchise’s camp. A statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) honorary secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday said that the change of venue was necessitated to “avoid any further incident due to any undetected (Covid-19) case during a long-distance bus journey in a closed environment.” Delhi Capitals had on Monday cancelled their trip to Pune from Mumbai and the entire team was put under quarantine after two people had tested Covid-positive. The BCCI statement said on Tuesday that, “The change of venue has been triggered due to five Covid-19 positive cases in the Delhi Capitals contingent.”

Among the Delhi Capitals members the BCCI confirmed had tested positive are, physio Patrick Farhat (tested positive on April 15), sports massage therapist Chetan Kumar (tested positive on April 16), Australian player Mitchell Marsh (tested positive on April 18), team doctor Abhijit Salvi (tested positive on April 18) and social media content team member Akash Mane (tested positive on April 18). “The Covid-positive cases are under isolation and medical observation. They will be tested on Day 6 and 7 and subject to both the tests being negative they will be re-integrated into the Delhi Capitals bio-secured bubble.”From April 16 onwards, the entire Delhi Capitals contingent has been put under a daily RT-PCR testing procedure. The fourth round of RT-PCR tests conducted on April 19 have returned negative. The Delhi Capitals contingent will undergo another round of RT-PCR testing on the morning of April 20,” said Shah in the statement. On Monday, Delhi Capitals had issued a statement, saying that Mitchell Marsh had tested Covid-positive following which he had been admitted to a hospital. “Delhi Capitals all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has tested positive for COVID-19, following which he has been admitted to a hospital. The Delhi Capitals medical team is closely monitoring Marsh’s condition,” DC had said in a statement on Monday.