IPL: SRH's Natarajan tests Covid positive ahead of DC game

THE 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) resumed after a gap of more than four months but on the fourth day of the second phase which is underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), bad news hit the tournament.

India cricketer T Natarajan, who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), tested positive for Covid-19 hours before their first match after resumption against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dubai on Wednesday (22). The SRH camp also isolated six other members of the squad who were identified as the player’s close contacts. One of them is all-rounder Vijay Shankar while the rest are members of the support staff.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, said that the game would go on as per the schedule as the rest of the SRH squad tested negative. Natarajan, who bowls left-hand and is making a comeback after a long injury break, was asymptomatic.

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In a release, the BCCI said, “Sunrisers Hyderabad player T Natarajan tested positive for Covid-19 at a scheduled RT-PCR test. The player has isolated himself from the rest of the squad. He is currently asymptomatic.

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“The medical team has identified the below mentioned six close contacts of the player, who have also been placed in isolation.”

The SRH also shared the news on Twitter and wished the 30-year-old Natarajan, who hails from the southern state of Tamil Nadu and made his India debut in Australia last December, a speedy recovery.

The development would hurt the Sunrisers who have so far picked just one win in the tournament out of seven games and will need a far better show in the remaining seven games to make the playoffs. They would have loved to have a death-overs expert bowler like Natarajan against a strong team like the Capitals, against whom they lost in the super over in the first meeting of the tournament in Chennai in April. Shankar’s absence will add to the SRH’s selection woes.

The Capitals will look to make the most of the opportunity to go to the top of the points table (they are currently second with 12 points) and inch closer to qualifying for the playoffs.