Covid 19 scare has hit the IPL again as the match between Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bangalore has been postponed.

IPL has confirmed that both Varun Chakaravarthy and Sandeep Warrier have contracted the virus, and they are currently being treated and are under medical care. 

An IPL statement read:

“Varun Chakaravarthy and Sandeep Warrier were found to be positive in the third round of testing in the last four days. All other team members have tested negative for COVID -19.

Both the players have isolated themselves from the rest of the squad. The Medical Team is in continuous touch with the duo and are monitoring their health. Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders have now moved towards a daily testing routine to identify any other possible cases and treat them at the earliest. 

The Medical Team is also determining the close and casual contacts of the two positive cases during the 48 hours prior to collection of the sample that returned the positive test results. 

The BCCI and the Kolkata Knight Riders prioritise the health and safety of everyone involved and all measures are being taken in that endeavour.”

The Shah Rukh Khan owned franchise is currently in seventh place and would have fancied their chances against Virat Kohli‘s side had the game been played.

Players within the bio bubble are adhered to strict protocols and are entitled to follow some guidelines. In the last IPL, the tournament was conducted in Dubai, and despite short preparation timing, BCCI came out with flying colors.

Three members of the Chennai Super Kings team have also been tested positive. According to reports, CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach L Balaji and another staff member’s RT-PCR report showed positive results on Sunday. However, in great relief to the franchise, another round of antigen tests came back negative on Monday. The BCCI, which is conducting this marathon tournament, has been facing severe criticism for running the IPL despite India’s

But in this season, the harsh reality of the pandemic has affected everyone. Players like Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, and Andrew Tye decided to leave the tournament midway while Ravichandran Ashwin took his time off to be with his family in this challenging time. Zampa even was very vocal about how vulnerable the IPL biobubble is and how it takes a toll on the players and other members.

People often argue that IPL is providing livelihood to hundreds and thousands of people, but it cannot be denied how a cricket tournament can be of help to such a condition where people are dying daily.

Leading to this big tournament, several players, including Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Daniel Sams, and a huge contingent of Wankhede ground members, were positive and needed to go under proper medication and care before resuming normal service.

Players like Pat Cummins, Shikhar Dhawan, and Hardik Pandya have already pledged monetary helps to tackle the covid crisis. The revenue generated by the BCCI would also undoubtedly help the central and state governments to eliminate this virus from the country forever.