The match 32 of IPL 2022 between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday will go ahead as per the schedule after the second round of Covid-19 tests on the Rishabh Pant-led side returned negative, said BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
Earlier, the fate of the match was under doubt when another overseas member of the Capitals’, New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert, tested positive for Covid-19 in the RT-PCR done earlier in the day.
“The entire Delhi Capitals contingent underwent 2 rounds of Covid-19 testing today. Match No. 32 involving Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings scheduled today at Brabourne – CCI will go ahead as per the schedule after the second round of Covid-19 tests returned negative today,” said Shah in a statement.
Seifert returning a Covid-19 positive test meant he became the sixth member from the Delhi camp to be affected by the virus. Seifert had contracted Covid-19 last year when he was a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders camp in IPL 2021 first leg in India.
Shah also said that the venue for Delhi’s next match against the Rajasthan Royals on April 22 has been moved from MCA Stadium in Pune to Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced a change of venue for Match No. 34 – Delhi Capital versus Rajasthan Royals from MCA Stadium, Pune to Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai scheduled on April 22, 2022.”
“The decision on the change of venue was made as a precautionary measure after Delhi Capitals registered the 6th Covid case with New Zealand wicketkeeper Mr Tim Seifert returning positive in today’s RT-PCR testing.”
Previously, Shah had said on Tuesday that the match between Delhi and Punjab had been shifted from MCA Stadium in Pune to Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai to avoid any further incident due to any undetected case during a long-distance bus journey in a closed environment.
The change in venue was caused due to Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, physiotherapist Patrick Farhart, sports massage therapist Chetan Kumar, team doctor Dr Abhijit Salvi and social media content team member Akash Mane testing positive for Covid-19. Farhart was the first to test positive for Covid-19 on April 15, followed by Kumar on April 16. Then, on April 18, Marsh, Dr Salvi and Mane returned Covid-19 positive results.
“The Covid-positive cases are under isolation and medical observation. They will be tested on Day 6 and 7 and subject to both the tests being negative they will be re-integrated into the Delhi Capitals bio-secured bubble,” read Shah’s statement on Tuesday.