Bangalore team confirms COVID report of Devdutt Padikkal, in quarantine at his residence

In a major setback for Virat Kohli-led side Bangalore, its opener Devdutt Padikkal has tested positive for Covid-19. This is a big setback for Bangalore before the start of IPL 2021. Bangalore is scheduled to play their first match on April 9 against five-time IPL champions Mumbai. Bangalore franchise on its Twitter handle confirmed the report of Devdutt Padikkal testing positive for COVID-19 on April 5 and also revealed that the opener is at his residence serving his mandatory quarantine period. 

Bangalore in its official statement revealed that Devdutt Padikkal tested positive for COVID-19 on March 22 and since then he has been in mandatory quarantine at his residence in Bengaluru. The franchise also clarified that the opener will join the bio-bubble of Virat Kohli-led side once his RT-PCR tests are negative. Giving his health update, the franchise on its Twitter handle revealed that Padikkal is already feeling well and the medical team is also in touch with him.  

However, it is still unclear that whether he will play in the opening match of IPL 2021. Devdutt Padikkal is in top form these days. Padikkal has recently scored 737 runs in 7 matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy at an average of over 147.

It is to be noted that on April 3, all-rounder Axar Patel who plays for Delhi in the IPL also tested positive for Coronavirus. Following this, he was quarantined as per the BCCI protocol. Before Axar, Kolkata's middle-order batsman Nitish Rana also tested positive for coronavirus. However, Rana tested negative for coronavirus after returning a positive result on March 22. Now Rana has joined the Kolkata team and is training under its bio-bubble. 

BCCI's SOP for COVID-19 positive players

As per the BCCI SOP, a player who tests positive for COVID-19 must isolate in the designated area outside the bio-secure environment for a minimum of 10 days from the first day of symptoms or the date of collection of the sample which resulted in a positive RT-PCR report, whichever is earlier. "During the 10-day isolation, the individual must rest and avoid any exercises. The team doctor should regularly monitor the case. If symptoms worsen during the course of isolation, the individual must be hospitalised immediately," the SOP states.

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