IPL 2021: CSK want RR game rescheduled, communicate the same to BCCI - Reports

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are unwilling to take to the field for their game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) owing to the COVID-19 scare in their camp. The two sides are scheduled to take on each other in Delhi on May 5.

CSK were rocked by the news of three of its members testing positive for the virus. The trio of CSK chief executive officer Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji and a bus cleaner returned positive results, with all the players testing negative for the virus.

The development cast doubt on the CSK vs RR game on Wednesday, with calls for rescheduling the game growing stronger. Speaking to the Indian Express, a CSK official confirmed the franchise had communicated its demands to the BCCI.

“The coach is asymptomatic. However, as per the BCCI’s Covid protocols, everybody who has come in contact with him will have to undergo a six-day quarantine. We can’t play our next game (against Rajasthan Royals). The BCCI knows about the testing protocols and how many tests need to become negative before an all-clear is given. We have communicated it to the BCCI. They will have to reschedule the game between CSK and Rajasthan Royals,” the CSK official claimed.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨Two of the three members of the #CSK camp who were thought to have contracted COVID-19 have tested positive as per the latest RT-PCR test reports.The two who have tested positive are bowling coach L Balaji and a member of the team's service staff.#IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/F3HOHemeyE

— Sportskeeda India (@Sportskeeda) May 3, 2021

According to IPL SOPs, a player who is classified as a close contact of an infected person has to return negative RT-PCR results on day one, three and six of the isolation period. This means that many members from the CSK camp will have to return negative results over the next six days to be allowed back onto the field.

The publication also revealed that CSK bowling coach Lakhsmipathy Balaji was part of the dressing room, as well as the bowlers’ meeting before the CSK vs MI game on May 1. There are concerns about how the positive cases in the CSK camp leave the Mumbai Indians group vulnerable to infection as well.

CSK’s COVID-19 scare could lead to multiple rescheduling

UPDATE: IPL reschedules today's #KKRvRCB match after two KKR players test positive. #VIVOIPL Details - https://t.co/vwTHC8DkS7 pic.twitter.com/xzcD8aijQ0

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 3, 2021

The IPL 2021 SOPs mean that CSK’s next few games are under the scanner. Apart from their game against the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, their clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 7 falls under the six-day window as well.

The BCCI is currently contemplating a fresh date for the rescheduled KKR vs RCB clash, and the current situation may prompt the body to rearrange some of the other IPL 2021 matches as well.