Ponting to miss IPL game after Covid-19 outbreak
Courtesy
|| AFP ||
Australian great Ricky Ponting is in isolation and will miss the Delhi Capitals' match Friday after a member of his family contracted Covid-19, the IPL franchise said in a statement.
Ponting, the team's head coach, is one of several members of the Delhi contingent -- including New Zealand's Tim Seifert, Australian Mitchell Marsh and four support staff -- who have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last few days.
But the outbreak has not disrupted the match schedule in the world's most lucrative cricket tournament.
The Capitals on Friday said Ponting had tested negative in two tests since his family member, a "close contact", became infected.
Ponting "will remain in isolation for five days" and will "not be present at the ground", the Capitals said just hours before their match against the resurgent Rajasthan Royals.
Delhi, led by Rishabh Pant, are at the sixth spot in the expanded 10-team tournament.
The IPL's 15th edition has 74 matches but games are restricted to four venues in Mumbai and Pune over coronavirus concerns.
India has recorded a jump in the number of Covid-19 cases in recent weeks but the spike is nowhere near the peak seen between March and May last year.
Thousands of Indians died of Covid every day in 2021, when the IPL began in India but was moved to the United Arab Emirates.
