BCCI issues statement as COVID hits IPL 2020; says all infected personnel are asymptomatic

With just three weeks remaining for the IPL 2020 to begin and the Coronavirus has already jolted a big blow to the T20 tournament which had to be moved to the UAE due to the pandemice. The BCCI on Saturday, confirmed that 13 personnel have been infected with the virus including two players. The BCCI has also informed that a total of 1988 RT-PCR Tests have been conducted between August 20-28 and that all affected personnel and their close contacts are 'asymptomatic' and have been isolated. 

Earlier on Friday, PTI reported that 12 members of the MS Dhoni-led franchise had tested positive for the novel Coronavirus. As a result, their quarantine period which had ended had to be extended. All the franchise had to undergo a mandatory quarantine of one week after landing in the UAE. Several franchises including the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab have already hit the nets after finishing their mandatory quarantine period. 

READ | IPL 2020: 1 Indian Player, Multiple CSK Staff Members Test Positive For COVID-19

BCCI issues statement

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 Season, which is scheduled to start from September 19th in the UAE. Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme. Total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th across all participant groups in the UAE. These groups include Players, Support Staff, Team Management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, Hotel and ground transport Staff," the BCCI said in a statement on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, after being hit by the Coronavirus on Friday, CSK suffered a huge blow on Saturday as ace batsman Suresh Raina pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons. Raina has travelled back to India and will be unavailable for the entire tournament, the franchise informed on Saturday. Recently on August 15, Raina had announced his retirement from international cricket and seemed pretty excited to get back to action which was reflected in his almost regular social media posts. 

READ | Suresh Raina To Miss IPL 2020; CSK Issues Statement As He Returns To India

IPL 2020 in UAE

The cash-rich tournament, which was earlier postponed, has been moved to the UAE due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament is all set to start on September 19 while the final will be played on November 10. The BCCI has already issued an SOP for the tournament and has also allowed COVID-19 replacement during the tournament. Recently, Dream11 acquired the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 for a whopping amount of Rs 220 crore after Vivo's exit. This year's edition will also feature COVID replacements that have been allowed by the governing body in view of the pandemic.

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