Team India opener Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Navdeep Saini (standby player) have returned positive for Covid-19 ahead of India’s white-ball series against West Indies.
As a result, Mayank Agarwal has been added to the India ODI squad which is scheduled to face the West Indies in a three-match ODI rubber. The first of the three ODIs is scheduled to start on Sunday (February 6) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), late on Wednesday, said that a total of seven members of the Indian contingent have tested positive, including T Dilip (Fielding Coach), B Lokesh (Security Liaison Officer) and Rajeev Kumar (Massage Therapist) after three rounds of testing.
It further said that all those, who have tested positive, have been moved to a different floor in the hotel and are currently in isolation.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Mayank Agarwal to India’s ODI squad after seven members, including three players of Team India (Senior Men) tested positive for COVID-19 following three rounds of RT-PCR testing,” the BCCI stated in a press release.
“The members were asked to report in Ahmedabad on 31st January 2022 for the upcoming Paytm three-match ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. Every member was also asked to undergo an RT-PCR test at home before embarking on their journey to Ahmedabad and the travel was undertaken only after testing negative,” it added.
“Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Navdeep Saini’s (standby player) RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (January 31st) have returned positive results,” BCCI stated.
“Fielding Coach T. Dilip and Security Liaison Officer B. Lokesh’s RT-PCR tests conducted on Monday (January 31st) have returned positive results,” the board wrote.
“Batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad’s RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday (February 1st) has returned a positive result. He had tested negative during the first round of testing on Monday,” it added.
” Batsman Shreyas Iyer and Sports Massage Therapist Rajeev Kumar’s RT-PCR tests conducted on Wednesday (February 2nd) have returned positive results. Both had tested negative in the first two rounds of testing,” the BCCI statement said.
Notably, the Indian team is currently in quarantine in Ahmedabad in preparation for their six-match white-ball series against the Windies.
Earlier, the West Indies team, which landed in Ahmedabad on Wednesday morning, is also staying in the same hotel as India.
Meanwhile, a Cricket West Indies (CWI) official has confirmed that there are no positive cases in the visiting camp. “We were all negative before we left Barbados. And all negative on our arrival tests at the airport yesterday in Ahmedabad. We are in room isolation on a separate floor to the Indian team as per the protocols,” the official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.