NEW DELHI, July 15: After the wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, a support staff member of the touring Indian cricket has tested positive for Covid-19 in England.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Thursday that training assistant/net bowler Dayanand Garani is the latest to contract the virus in the team.
Reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, standby opener Abhimanyu Easwaran and bowling coach Bharat Arun have also been placed in isolation after coming in contact with Garani. “The four personnel will undergo 10-day isolation and will remain in their respective rooms in the team hotel in London,” the BCCI said in a statement.
The rest of the Indian squad is on its way to Durham, they will reach in the evening after reassembling in London after 20-day break.
Pant, Saha and Easwaran are set to miss the team’s 3-day practice game against a County Championship XI starting July 20. The match will be played behind closed doors and 90 overs will be played each day. Durham Cricket will broadcast the game on its YouTube channel.
The 23-year-old Rishabh Pant has been in quarantine for the past 8 days after testing positive on July 8. He probably contracted the virus after attending England’s Euro 2020 round of 16 match against Germany on June 30. The Indian cricket board confirmed that Pant is asymptomatic.
Indian cricketers were on a 20-day break following their eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton last month. Some of the players and even head coach Ravi Shastri were spotted at Wimbledon and Euros during the break.
Notably, this is the first time the Indian cricket team has been hit by Covid-19 during a tour or an international series. India and England are scheduled to play a series of 5 Tests in Leeds, Manchester, London and Nottingham from August 4.
(Manas Dasgupta)
