Two members of CSK contingent positive in repeat test

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach L Balaji and a bus cleaner with the contingent tested positive on Sunday.

A top BCCI official, after declaring all three cases to be "false positives", later clarified that Balaji along with the unnamed cleaner had come out positive even in the repeat test.

"Three members of CSK contingent, CEO Kasi, bowling coach L Balaji and a bus driver had tested positive in the morning followed by negative Rapid Antigen test report," the source said.

"However second RT-PCR report found Balaji and bus driver positive again. The others in the team especially playing members have tested negative," he added.

CSK, currently based in Delhi, suspended their training for the day and are scheduled to face Rajasthan Royals on May 5. The team had been hit by COVID cases even in the 2020 edition which was held in the UAE.

There was cause of concern in Delhi too as a few groundsmen at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, which is due to host Mumbai Indians vs SunRisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, have also tested positive for the virus. However, Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) chief Rohan Jaitley said "none of the groundsmen on duty" are among them.

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) slated to be played on Monday evening was rescheduled for a later date after two KKR players tested positive.

The BCCI continued to insist that the league will go on but Monday's developments have definitely cast a shadow on how the COVD-19 threat would be managed for an event being staged across six venues.