IPL 2021: KKR-RCB match postponed officially after Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier test COVID-19 positive

The BCCI and IPL governing council have confirmed that Monday (May 3) night’s match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been postponed indefinitely amid COVID-19 scare. The KKR-RCB encounter scheduled in Ahmedabad will be rescheduled for a later, yet unconfirmed date after two of the KKR players – Varun Chakravarthy […]
 
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IPL 2021: KKR-RCB match postponed officially after Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier test COVID-19 positive

The BCCI and IPL governing council have confirmed that Monday (May 3) night’s match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been postponed indefinitely amid COVID-19 scare.

The KKR-RCB encounter scheduled in Ahmedabad will be rescheduled for a later, yet unconfirmed date after two of the KKR players – Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier – tested positive for the contagious virus, the outbreak of which has wreaked havoc in the world.

This is the first instance of players who are inside the multiple IPL bubbles testing positive since the competition began on April 9. Even as India experiences a major health crisis due to the devastating second wave of the ongoing pandemic, the IPL 2021 had gone largely unscathed. But that changed on Monday afternoon.

IPL 2021: KKR-RCB match postponed officially after Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier test COVID-19 positive

Two of the KKR players have tested COVID-19 positive.

KKR-RCB match postponed officially after Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier test COVID-19 positive

“Varun Chakaravarthy and Sandeep Warrier were found to be positive in the third round of testing in the last four days. All other team members have tested negative for COVID -19,” it was mentioned in an official IPL statement.

“Both the players have isolated themselves from the rest of the squad. The Medical Team is in continuous touch with the duo and are monitoring their health.”

IPL 2021: KKR-RCB match postponed officially after Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier test COVID-19 positive

 

The KKR management seems to be in direct discussions with the BCCI and IPL authorities on the matter, as the statement confirmed they’ve “moved towards a daily testing routine to identify any other possible cases and treat them at the earliest.”

“The Medical Team is also determining the close and casual contacts of the two positive cases during the 48 hours prior to collection of the sample that returned the positive test results.”

Speculations are rife on how exactly the two KKR players caught the virus but ESPNcricinfo reported, “Chakravarthy recently left the IPL bio-bubble through the official green channel to carry out a scan on his shoulder and that is where he might have been exposed.”

While pacer Warrier hasn’t played any of the KKR games in IPL 2021, incisive finger-spinner Chakravarthy has been one of their first-choice picks through the campaign.

Chakravarthy has taken 7 wickets from 7 outings while going for 7.82 runs per over but will now be missing his team’s matches in the next one week – a major blow to a KKR team languishing in the bottom half of the points table after 2 wins and 5 defeats.