Devdutt Padikkal Covid Positive: RCB opener unavailable for IPL 2021 first game?

Devdutt Padikkal Covid Positive: In a huge disappointing news, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal has tested positive for Covid-19. Ahead of the 14^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the left-handed Karnataka batsman becomes the third player after Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Axar Patel and Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Nitish Rana to test positive for the deadly virus. RCB will be facing the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the tournament opener on April 9 in Chennai and this positive report puts major doubts on Padikkal’s availability for the first match.

Devdutt Padikkal Corona Positive

It has been confirmed that the RCB opener has been isolated from the rest of the squad and is in quarantine. It is also being reported that he is likely to miss the first two games of IPL 2021 against Mumbai and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) scheduled on April 9 and April 14 respectively. It is a lackluster blow for RCB as Padikkal was the leading run-getter for his team in IPL 2020 with a fabulous tally of 473 runs in his debut season.

2nd wave of #COVID19 in #India has put a scare into #IPL2021 . Latest is that star #RCB opening batsman #DevduttPadikkal has tested positive and is in quarantine. Doubtful whether he will be fit for 1st #IPL match on Apr 9 in #Chennai between #RCBvsMI!

— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) April 4, 2021

“Let’s wait and watch the next 48 hours. Until then, everybody needs to strictly respect the protocols, increase the testing and not break the bio-bubbles. If they follow the norms, things will definitely be fine,” sources, privy to the development, were quoted as saying to The Times of India (TOI).

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad for IPL 2021

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Finn Allen (wk), AB de Villiers (wk), Pavan Deshpande, Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kane Richardson, Harshal Patel, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Christian, Suyash Prabhudessai, K.S. Bharat.

BCCI to take strict actions over bio-bubble concerns ahead of IPL 2021

Apart from the trio of Axar, Nitish and Padikkal, several members of the ground staff at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai also tested positive on Saturday. It was also confirmed that a member of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) content team has contracted the novel coronavirus. However, luckily, it has been revealed that the CSK content team person did not come in contact with any of the players.

“It is an official from the CSK content team. His tests came through today, following which he has been completely isolated from the rest of the squad. It can be confirmed that he didn’t go anywhere near the players and support staff. So they are all safe, and the team will continue to practice as usual today,” a CSK source was quoted saying by the Times of India.

“Should a franchise bio-bubble or any staff working with the IPL test positive or show symptoms or come in contact with those who have been affected, information needs to be immediately relayed to the medical staff. That’s extremely important. Everybody is doing it but we all need to be extra careful given the situation,” the board sources mentioned.

“The board is putting Covid-compliance officers in place. They should’ve started two weeks ago. The tournament cannot be shifted to the UAE now,” the sources added.

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