IPL 2023: Players to have lengthy time-out if contracted with Covid-19; likely to miss 7 days of action

The players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) could have a lengthy time-out from their team if they are contracted with Covid-19 during the tournament. The IPL governing body is contemplating and insisting on seven days of isolation for players if they contract the novel virus. The Covid-19 policy is likely to attract a huge backlash from the players after last year has seen athletes compete in competitions despite testing positive for the virus.

“While there has been a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in India we still have to be careful of the emerging strains which are becoming a concern at regular intervals,” the IPL’s medical guidelines, which were distributed to franchises this week, say.

“Positive cases must be isolated for a maximum of seven days. Positive cases will not be allowed to participate in any match or any form of activity/event during the period of isolation.

There has been a slight change in the guidelines for the players if they are found asymptomatic in the next 24 hours. The players can undergo RT-PCR in the above case and thus can join the team at the earliest possible hour.

“From day five, they can undergo an RT-PCR, provided they must be must be asymptomatic without any medication for 24 hours. Once the first result is negative the 2nd test must be done 24 hours apart. Only after obtaining two negative RT-PCR tests 24 hours apart i.e. day five and day six, can they rejoin the group.”

Last year Tahila Mcgrath of Australia was allowed to play in the gold medal match of the Commonwealth Games despite contracting the ungodly virus. Novak Djokovic in tennis was allowed to play in the Australia Open despite not being vaccinated, which has raised concerns for players participating in the IPL as they could have to sit out for a longer spell of time.

The IPL 2023 season will start on March 31 with ten teams in action for the blockbuster event while this year the tournament will be played in multiple cities compared to last season’s protocols that restricted the tournament to just Mumbai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

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