On Monday, two more members of the Wankhede Stadium ground staff and one plumber tested positive for COVID-19, just days before the launch of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021). On Tuesday, sources inside the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) reported the news. It has also been revealed that, in order to comfortably perform the IPL at the Wankhede, ground-staff members will not be travelling and will instead remain in the stadium.
“On Monday, two more members of the ground crew and one plumber returned with good COVID-19 data. At the Wankhede, ten ground crew members had tested positive for COVID “On Tuesday, an MCA source told ANI.
“There is a club house within the Wankhede Stadium, and all of the ground workers will remain there until the Mumbai leg is over so that the IPL will run smoothly,” the source said.
Several members of the Wankhede grounds-staff returned with optimistic COVID-19 results last week, causing several franchises to become concerned.
An official from one of the franchises, currently based in Mumbai, told ANI that the situation has changed and that tighter procedures are needed. “When you learn those stuff days before the tournament, it makes you a bit anxious. We’ve all been following procedures to the letter, but when such news comes in, it naturally leaves us nervous. We want to hold it as tight as possible. We must maintain vigilance “the official said. Devdutt Padikkal of RCB, Axar Patel of Delhi Capitals, and Nitish Rana of KKR are the three players who have tested positive for COVID-19. Rana, on the other hand, has recovered and has begun training with the KKR team.
The Maharashtra government declared a weekend shutdown from Friday 8 p.m. to Monday 7 a.m. on Sunday to combat the spread of COVID-19, but BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated that the IPL will continue as planned.
“Everything will go according to plan,” Ganguly told ANI.
From April 10 to 25, Wankhede Stadium will host ten IPL matches. The Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings will play the first match at the Mumbai stadium on April 10.
As of now, four franchises have formed themselves in Mumbai: the Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals.