Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer test positive before West Indies series

New Delhi, February 2

A Covid-19 outbreak hit the Indian cricket team today as three players — senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer — tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of the West Indies series.

The Indian team assembled in Ahmedabad on January 31 and was going through a three-day isolation period.

“Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan have tested positive. However, there are multiple Covid-positive cases among the non-coaching support staff. It could be between two to four persons,” a veteran BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The ODI series starts in Ahmedabad on February 6 with India’s 1000th ODI. It is now a foregone conclusion that the three players will be missing the ODI series as they will have to undergo a week-long isolation and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests. — PTI

West Indies arrive

Ahmedabad: On a high after beating England in a T20I series, West Indies arrived here this morning for their upcoming limited-overs series against India. The two teams will play three ODIs here, followed by three T20 Internationals in Kolkata.