CSA ensures safe return of players, support staff

The Cricket South Africa (CSA) has ensured that all the players and support staff will return home after the IPL 2021 was suspended for an indefinite time on Tuesday.

The CSA has further said that it is in constant touch with the franchises to ensure that the South African players and support staff return back home safely and also supported BCCI’s decision.

“CSA supports the decision to put the health and safety interests of all involved in the tournament first and foremost and has made contact with all of the relevant franchises to ensure the expedited travel of all South African players and support staff back to our shores,” a tweet read.

The players and other members who will be travelling back to South Africa will have to undergo a mandatory home quarantine.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the BCCI had suspended the IPL after there was a rise in COVID-19 cases within the franchise teams. SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha, DC’s Amit Mishra and KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrior and CSK’s bowling coach L. Balaji had tested positive.

The clash between KKR and RCB which was scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad on Monday was the first match that was initially rescheduled while the encounter between SRH and MI slated to take place in Delhi on Tuesday was suspended later.

Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi are some of the prominent players from South Africa who are a part f the IPL 2021.

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EXCLUSIVE | IPL 2021 has been suspended as a precautionary measure: DDCA President

The Indian Premier League was on Tuesday suspended with immediate effect and for an indefinite time after there was a rise in COVID-19 cases within the teams. In an exclusive chat with OneCricket, the Delhi and District Association (DDCA) President Rohan Jaitley told that the postponement of the tournament has come as the precautionary measure as the health of the players and every other individual is primary and the most important thing. “As far as I know the players in the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and support staff in Chennai Super Kings had tested positive for COVID-19. So, as a precautionary measure, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to suspend the IPL for now. Health of the players and everyone is primary and the most important thing,” Rohan said. There was a news that the ground staff at the Arun Jaitley stadium had tested positive but denying the reports, the President said that they were tested but the reports came out to be negative. “No, the ground staff at the stadium wasn’t tested positive,” he said. When asked whether the BCCI is planning to hold the event in the near future, the DDCA President said that the final call will be taken by the board but the tournament would be held as and when the condition becomes better. "The board will take the final call on holding the tournament as and when the condition becomes better and the decision will be taken at a later stage,” he further said. Delhi was slated to host the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.

BREAKING | Indian Premier League suspended as four teams go under quarantine due to Covid-19

The Indian Premier League has been suspended after half the teams went under quarantine due to rising covid-19 cases in the bio bubbles. Earlier in the morning reports suggested that Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Wriddhiman Saha and Delhi Capitals' spinner Amit Mishra tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, 3 May. As per reports, the entire Sunrisers Hyderabad team has been quarantined since last evening and all the close contacts of the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman have been put under isolation. The development means that now, four out of eight teams playing in the Indian Premier League have been quarantined for at least a week and BCCI will be forced to reschedule all the matches unless these turn out to be a case of false positives. Venkata Krishna B of the New Indian Express has further reported that there were no breaches in the SRH bubble. This most likely confirms that the Tuesday 7:30 pm game between SRH and Mumbai Indians and will have to be postponed, but there has been no announcement on the same from the Indian Premier League of the Board of Control for Cricket in India at the time of writing. A further course of action will be taken by the BCCI once they clarify if and when the tournament will be shifting to Mumbai for its last leg. It has been widely reported by the media that BCCI have already intimated to the teams that they will be skipping Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Bangalore as venues and will reschedule the matches in Mumbai. This is a developing story. More details are awaited.

IPL 2021 | RR vs CSK postponed as Lakshmipathy Balaji tests positive for Covid-19

The 32nd match of the Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which was scheduled to be hosted on May 5 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi has been postponed, as per several reports. The development comes after Chennai Super Kings bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, 3 May. Chennai Super Kings confirmed the news via their social media platforms on Tuesday, 4 May. The release stated that three members of the Chennai based team have been isolated and the Board of Control for Cricket in India along with the franchise are monitoring their condition. The team itself is currently under a week long quarantine. While it has not been confirmed at the moment as to from where did Balaji contract Covid-19, but it is an issue given he is a part of the CSK dugout. Reports also stated that five members of the DDCA ground staff have also been reported to be covid-positive but apparently they were not a part of the Delhi bio-bubble. As per the current developments, BCCI are thinking about shifting the entire league to Mumbai, where the Maharashtra government has been able to curb down on the infection rapidly. This is a developing story. More details are awaited.

IPL 2021 set to move Mumbai after bio-bubble breach in Delhi & Ahmedabad

The Board of Control for Cricket in India are in all likelihood shifting to Mumbai to complete the rest of the games of the Indian Premier League, the Times of India has reported. The decision comes after bio bubbles were breached in both venues that are hosting the second leg of the IPL. On Monday morning, 3 May, several media houses reported that two teams have members who were feeling unwell and upon testing were found to be covid positive. As panic ensued through the day, it was confirmed at Kolkata Knight Riders, who are stationed in Ahmedabad, have two players affected by Covid-19, while Chennai Super Kings have three members affected by the virus, but none of whom are players. While there was no official confirmation from BCCI on the matter throughout the day, IPL, in a media release stated that they were forced to postpone the 30th encounter of the league, a 7:30 pm game between RCB and KKR. In a Sports Today YouTube podcast later in the evening, Boria Majumdar confirmed that the entire KKR team have been put under hard quarantine for five days with no one allowed to get out of their rooms. Coincidentally the match between RR and CSK, scheduled for Wednesday, May 5, has been postponed as well. As of today, it is learnt that the franchises are on board with the idea to shift to Mumbai, given the Covid conditions in the rest of the venues like Kolkata, but they might need more time to rework the logistical issues. This is a developing story. More details are awaited.