Archive photo of Shikhar Dhawan.© AFP
An outbreak of COVID-19 hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday when three players – senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-class batter Shreyas Iyer – tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of the West Indies series. The Indian team gathered in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies and went through a three-day isolation period after their hiatus from the South African series. “Three Players — Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan have tested positive. However, there are multiple COVID positive cases among non-coaching administrative support staff. It could be between two and four people,” an experienced BCCI official said. to PTI about the terms of anonymity.
The series kicks off on February 6 in Ahmedabad with India’s 1000th ODI match, but it is now a foregone conclusion that the trio will miss the series as they have to be isolated for a week and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests.
M Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore, Rishi Dhawan, who are standbys for the series, are now expected to get a look to be included in the squad.
As for Rohit Sharma’s opening partner, Venkatesh Iyer, a specialist opener in the T20 squad, can be tried.
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