Varun Chakravarthy tests COVID-19 positive, BCCI gives latest update on KKR camp situation

The Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore game, scheduled for Monday, May 3, has been postponed as two players test positive for COVID-19. After weeks of careful planning and mostly smooth conduct, the bubble seems to have finally burst for the organizers of the IPL 2021, who will now have to contend with the possibility of at least one cancelled or postponed match in the season. Choosing to continue the tournament as a deadly second wave of the pandemic rages on outside, the BCCI will be under immense pressure to investigate how their high-security bio-secure bubble was breached and the ramifications it will have.

KKR vs RCB postponed? Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier test positive

Having repeatedly asserted the infallible nature of the IPL 2021 bio-bubble, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly will have to field questions about how KKR's Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier have managed to test positive for the virus in the middle of the tournament. While this is not the first COVID positive report to come out of the IPL this year - Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and others, all tested positive before the start of the tournament - this will be the first case in the tournament since the bio-bubbles were put in place following the initial rounds of testing and quarantine.

After multiple international players claimed that the IPL 2021 bio-bubble was the 'safest' place to be in India at the moment, this breach is likely to test the faith of at least some of the members participating in the league. Foremost among them will be the rest of the Kolkata players, including Aussie bowler Pat Cummins, who is said to be feeling slightly under the weather as well. Having donated a generous $50,000 to the PM-CARES fund just last week, Cummins and other international players cannot return home now, with most countries shutting off all travel from India.

While the BCCI or for that matter, even the Knight Riders, are yet to comment on this breach at the time of writing, it is being reported that the 'KKR vs RCB postponed' announcement is to be expected soon. As of now, the news is that all players in the struggling Kolkata side have quarantined themselves. How many, if any of them will choose to continue in the tournament remains unclear. Also of some concern, will be the fact that KKR's last game against Delhi was just three days ago. Here is the BCCI official release on the story -

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.

IPL 2021 schedule

The fact that the team may have to remain in quarantine for at least 14 days just to ensure that they are indeed COVID negative, may also have some serious ramifications on the IPL 2021 schedule. While postposing one game is not as big of a logistical challenge, moving an entire team's schedule around may force a full tournament postponement akin to that of the PSL 2021. 

Image credits: IPL website