Just as the Pakistan Cricket Board had to cancel the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to Corona, the BCCI may have to take a similar decision for the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kolkata Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers (RCB) matches have been postponed in the IPL today after two players from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) came back positive.
IPL- 7 players tested positive, support staff and groundsman also infected
According to reports, two staffers including Chennai bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji have also turned positive. Apart from this, Kings XI Punjab is also reported to have a player positive. In the IPL, 7 players have been infected since inception. On Monday, KKR's Varun Chakraborty and Sandeep Warrier were confirmed to be positive.
Earlier, Nitish Rana (KKR), Akshar Patel (DC), Daniel Symes (RCB), Enrique Norkhia (DC) and Devdutt Padikkal (RCB) were also positive. However, all of them were positive before the league started and were in isolation at the time.
PSL and IPL - 2 similar events
1. Players came out of bio bubble in PSL, Varun also took Green pass to come out in IPL
In PSL, Peshawar Zalmi team coach Darren Sammy and captain Wahab Riaz walked out of the Bio Secure bubble. Breaking the rules and went to meet the team owners.Varun Chakraborty of KKR also came out of the bio bubble in the IPL. Although Varun went for a scan with the official green pass, it is believed that he has got an infection during this time. The infection reached the warrior only from him.
2. Only one match was canceled in PSL, league had to be stopped later.
Just as the KKR Vs RCB match has been postponed in the IPL, the PSL also tried to postpone a match initially and try to stop the infection. It was to no avail and eventually the entire league had to be postponed.
The way team staff and players are coming positive, there is a high possibility of IPL being canceled. According to sources, players of other teams are afraid to play with KKR after two KKR players were infected. In such a situation, a big challenge can be faced by the franchisee.
Apart from Varun and Sandeep Warrier, the reports of all the other players in KKR have come negative. It is a matter of discussion that the remaining matches of the IPL should be done on any two Venues so that the players do not have to travel.
Though there was talk of all the matches being held in Lahore in PSL, the tournament had to be canceled before a decision could be taken on it.
PCB - first cricket board body to offer Covid-19 vaccines
The PCB had chosen to provide Sars-Coronavirus Vaccine treatments to all PSL 6 players a day earlier, making it the first cricket board to use the vaccine that provided immunity against the Covid-19 virus.