IPL’s Delhi Capitals franchise have confirmed that their bowler Axar Patel has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been admitted to a ‘designated medical care facility’.
According to the statement shared by the franchise, Axar checked into the team hotel in Mumbai on 28 March with a negative report. However, he tested positive in his second test and has since been in isolation at a designated medical care facility.
Players fly out to their team’s camps after returning a negative test for COVID after which they are tested thrice more during their 7-day quarantine.
In Axar’s case, he tested negative before landing in Mumbai for the camp and also in the first test conducted after the checked into the hotel. It was only in the second test in Mumbai that he returned a positive test and has now been moved out of the team hotel.
According to the protocols set by the BCCI for players affected by COVID-19, Patel will now enter a 10-day period in isolation and will have to undergo RT-PCR test on the 9th and 10th days of isolation. He will be allowed to re-enter the bio-secure environment if the test results are negative and he does not show any symptoms for over 24 hours.
Patel had taken 27 wickets in three Tests against England recently. In fact, he played his debut Test - the second Test in Chennai -- during the series.
The spinner was used in the power-play by Delhi Capitals effectively in the last season's IPL.
Patel is the second cricketer, after KKR’s Nitish Rana, to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week. KKR revealed that Rana was positive after landing in Mumbai but has since tested negative twice over the last two days and joined the team’s training camp on Friday.
"I first got tested because it's compulsory for an entry into Mumbai, so I did it, and I got a negative result. Then I flew into Mumbai, and came straight to the hotel. In Mumbai, after the first day of quarantine, I got tested again. Obviously wasn't expecting the tests to come positive. I had taken all sorts of precautions. But despite that, I contracted Covid," Nitish Rana said in the video posted by KKR.
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