Indian T20 2021: Battling COVID-19

India went through a major crisis during the second wave of the COVID-19. There was a significant rise in deaths, and the country braced for another lockdown in the fight against the raging pandemic. The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (Indian T20) went ahead as scheduled, and the first two legs – Mumbai and Chennai – were unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis. However, on May 3, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that two players from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tested positive. It also forced the BCCI to reschedule KKR’s fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had to postpone their match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) as RT-PCR tests of few members from their coaching staff turned positive. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and veteran spinner Amit Mishra, too, contracted the virus, leaving the BCCI with no option but to suspend the tournament.

With the Indian T20 2021 set to resume in UAE on Sunday, we take a look at a few players who successfully fought off the virus during the first leg in India.

Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, Axar Patel, Daniel Sams

Four players caught the virus before the tournament began on April 9 in Chennai. Nitish Rana, playing his fourth season in KKR colors, tested positive during the mandatory quarantine at the team hotel in Mumbai. The Delhi-born batsman had no symptoms and returned a negative test after nine days. With 201 runs, Rana is KKR’s leading run-scorer in the Indian T20 2021.

RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 473 runs in the 2020 edition of the Indian T20, was infected with the virus on March 22. The youngster had to quarantine at home for two weeks and joined the RCB camp after two negative tests. He missed the Bengaluru-based outfit’s opening match but made it to the playing 11 in the next game and scored a hundred against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium.

Ahead of Indian T20 14, Axar Patel was brimming with confidence. He had picked up 27 wickets in the four-match Test series against England. But, with six days to go for the tournament, Axar tested positive for COVID-19. The left-arm spinner, who missed DC’s opening four matches, was moved to a designated facility and rejoined the squad on April 23.

RCB pacer Daniel Sams contracted the virus two days before RCB’s opening fixture in Indian T20 2021. The Aussie had returned a negative test on his arrival but became the second player in the RCB squad to be affected by the virus. Ten days later, Sams tested negative and joined the team’s bio-bubble. He made his debut for the franchise in the one-run win over DC in Ahmedabad.

Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier

KKR became the first franchise to be affected by the pandemic in the middle of Indian T20 2021. Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier returned a positive test on May 3. It forced them to postpone the match against RCB, and the entire KKR contingent went into quarantine. Varun, who had left the bio-secure bubble to get a scan on an injured shoulder, had a mild fever, while Sandeep was asymptomatic.

Both players recovered from the virus by May second week. They were picked in the India squad for the ODIs and T20Is in Sri Lanka and made their international debut during the three-match T20I series.

Wriddhiman Saha, Amit Mishra

Following two positive cases at KKR camp, a few reports emerged on May 4 that two players from different franchises, too, had contracted COVID-19. SRH’s Saha and Indian T20 second leading wicket-taker Mishra had tested positive. With an increasing number of cases, the BCCI decided to suspend the tournament on May 4. Meanwhile, both Saha and Mishra tested negative two weeks later.

Tim Seifert, Prasidh Krishna

Two more players from KKR caught the virus after BCCI halted the tournament for an indefinite period. New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert tested positive a day before returning to his homeland. The wicketkeeper-batsman had mild symptoms and underwent treatment in Chennai. He left for New Zealand on May 18.

Prasidh Krishna, who made an impressive debut for India in the ODI series against England, was named on the standby players list for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final and the Test series against England. But, the very next day, the 25-year-old had to be isolated after a positive test result. Pacer, likely to have contracted the virus from fellow KKR bowlers Varun and Sandeep, made a full recovery and joined the India Test squad in the third week of May.