'Worried but no need to panic' - BCCI official on a COVID case in SRH camp in IPL 2021

India and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer T Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19 before their start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Wednesday (22 September).  The news came as an absolute shocker for the organizers and the rest of the franchises, even when strict measures and protocols were followed for COVID-19 related norms in the UAE.

Although the SRH and DC games progressed, the positive testing of Natarajan has hugely worried the organizers. Incidentally, the first half of the IPL was postponed due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the bio-bubble environment in India. Currently, Natarajan is asymptomatic and his six identified close contacts are under isolation. The RT-PCR tests are conducted on a daily basis for the players.

But the threat of COVID-19 still persists even when the right measures and precautions are being carried out by the organizers in the UAE. But the BCCI are optimistic about pulling off the IPL. “Yes, we are worried but there is no need to press the panic button right now. Let’s hope for the best. We are getting all the support in the UAE (related to COVID),” a senior BCCI official said according to Mid-day.

Apart from the SRH and DC game, another match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders went ahead smoothly without any hiccups. Natarajan too is recovering well and is following the orders of the medical team. There is no official update yet from SRH as to when the pacer will be deemed fit for their remaining six games in the UAE leg of IPL.

Sunrisers Hyderabad hoping to turn around their campaign

Things are not going great for SRH at the moment and even a break from the IPL could not possibly stop their losses. Their resumption match in the UAE didn’t pan out the way they would have hoped for as they lost to DC by seven wickets. Currently, they have won just won one game and are placed last on the points table. With six games yet to be played, SRH are searching for revival to turn their fortunes.

But with the news of Sherfane Rutherford returning home at this stage is a big blow for the SRH management. It remains to be seen if the team announces any replacement player.