The Delhi Capitals contingent has been forced into isolation following the emergence of a positive Covid-19 case in the latest round of testing on Sunday.
Although no official statement has been made either by the franchise or the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it has been reported that a net bowler is the one to test positive for the deadly virus.
The incident came to light just hew hours before the Rishabh Pant-led DC was scheduled to face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their 11th match of the ongoing TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) season at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday (May 8) evening.
As per reports, a fresh round testing took place on Sunday morning with all members of the DC contingent confined to their rooms.
Notably, it was for the second time during the ongoing 2022 season that the DC team has been forced to enter into isolation as earlier, six members of the contingent including physio Patrick Farhart, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, keeper-batter Tim Seifert and three other non-playing members had tested positive for Covid-19.
Following the positive case in the cam, DC’s match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), which was originally scheduled to be held in Pune, was relocated to Mumbai.
Significantly as per the IPL guidelines, any person testing positive in the tournament bio-bubble would need to isolate for a minimum of seven days and to re-enter the bubble, the person would need to return consecutive negative RT-PCR tests taken 24 hours apart.
Moreover, if a franchise had multiple positive cases, the IPL rule says that the team can take the field with a minimum of 12 players, including seven Indians and one substitute and in that case where 12 players are not available then the IPL would take the final call, which would be final and binding.
Notably, the 2020 season of the lucrative league was postponed due to the first wave of the pandemic. The season however, was later staged in the UAE.
Later in 2021, the IPL season was forced to be stopped mid-way after several players had returned positive inside the Ahmedabad and Delhi bio-bubbles. The season was later shifted to the UAE for its completion.
The current year however, witnessed sharp decline in Covid cases following which the tournament organisers decided to allow 25 per cent capacity of crowds in the stadiums.
As of now, DC have played ten matches, winning five and losing the remaining ones. The Pant-led side are currently placed fifth in the ten-team points-table.