Delhi Capitals - Punjab Kings game moved to Brabourne Stadium
Wednesday's (April 20) game, originally scheduled to be played in Pune, is subject to the rest of Capitals squad clearing Covid tests on the morning of the match
The IPL 2022 clash between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings on Wednesday (April 20) has been moved to Brabourne Stadium given the Covid situation in the Capitals' camp. A media release from the BCCI stated that the decision to move the game out of Pune, the original venue of the game, was "to avoid any further incident due to any undetected case during a long-distance bus journey in a closed environment."
As on mid-day April 19, Mitchell Marsh and four members of the Delhi Capitals support staff have tested positive for the virus. A fourth round of RT-PCR tests conducted on Tuesday morning, however, has returned negative results.
Cricbuzz understands that in view of the seriousness of the situation, the samples of the Delhi players and support staff were taken earlier than the normal time today morning so that the BCCI had more time to take a call on the fate of the game - whether to go ahead with it in Pune, move it to Mumbai or reschedule it altogether.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings team, which was to travel to Pune for the game, has also stayed put in Mumbai and have a practice session scheduled for Tuesday evening.
It is also understood that DC have decided to come out of their forced isolation. With the BCCI clarifying the situation, they will go for practice at the BKC ground on Tuesday evening. Apart from Marsh, Patrick Farhat (physiotherapist), Chetan Kumar (sports massage therapist), Dr Abhijit Salvi (team doctor) and Akash Mane (social media Content team member) are in isolation for testing positive.
A point of significance is that DC are also scheduled to play a game in Pune on April 22 against Rajasthan Royals. It will have to be seen if the BCCI will move that game too. "We don't have information on this," said a Delhi official. Late on Tuesday night, it was learnt that the BCCI will decide on the Friday's game on Wednesday.
"The Delhi Capitals contingent will undergo another round of RT-PCR testing on the morning of April 20th," the BCCI said. A Board official said the testing on the Delhi players will continue to be done for five days a week. Normally, those in the bubble get to be tested a day before a game. Conversely, that adds up to thrice a week, considering that each team is playing, on an average, three games in seven days.
