SRH's India player T Natarajan tests positive, match against DC to go ahead as scheduled

Sharja

Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan has tested positivefor COVID-19 but the team's IPL match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday willgo ahead as scheduled, the BCCI said.

Left-arm pacer Natarajan, who is coming back from a knee surgery, has been isolatedalong with six close contacts which also include out of favour Indiaall-rounder Vijay Shankar. "Sunrisers Hyderabad player T Natarajan testedpositive for COVID-19 at a scheduled RT-PCR test. The player has isolatedhimself from the rest of the squad. He is currently asymptomatic," a BCCIrelease stated.

"The rest of the contingent including the close contacts underwent RT-PCRtests at 5AM local time this morning and the test reports are negative. "Asa result, tonight's game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals will goahead at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai," it further stated.

The close contacts identified by the medical team also include Vijay Kumar(TeamManager), Shyam Sundar J (Physiotherapist), Anjana Vannan (Doctor), TusharKhedkar (Logistics Manager), and Periyasamy Ganesan (Net Bowler).

As per the IPL's Standard Operating Procedure, Natarajan will now have toisolate for 10 days and test negative twice before being allowed back into thebubble. The development is a major blow to SRH, who could not avail hisservices in the first leg due to injury.

The 30-year-old Natarajan has 20 IPL wickets from 24 matches that he hasplayed. The IPL resumed here on Sunday after it had to be halted in May due tomultiple COVID cases in its bio-bubble when the event was being staged inIndia.

Even at that time, SRH was affected when senior wicketkeeper-batsman WriddhimanSaha tested positive. The league was suspended once his report came out, addingto the three cases that had been detected before that.

A league source said that the organisers are no longer using a mobile app totrack close contacts, which was a norm during the last edition in the UAE, andare relying on the afflicted person's inputs to monitor the spread.

"We don't know but that contact tracing app was a very good way to trackbubble breaches, if any. I think this is a cost-cutting measure by theBCCI," the source said.