The Indian Premier League 2021 is back in India and is being played across six venues. Owing to the country's ongoing COVID situation, the matches are being played behind closed doors, while none of the teams has a home advantage this season.
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With cases on the rise in India, strict measures are being taken, considering that the nation is going through COVID's 'second wave'. The state of Maharashtra has been severely affected once again.
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Therefore, to ensure smooth conduct of the IPL 2021 matches at the Wankhede Stadium, the Mumbai Cricket Association has asked its Apex Council members to produce a negative COVID report if they wish to watch the games inside the venue. The venue's first match will be played on Saturday, between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.
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"Dear Apex Council members. As per BCCI's protocol, all the officials who would be attending the IPL 2021 matches at Wankhede Stadium are required to produce a Negative report of RT-PCR test conducted within 48 hours of the matchday," Sanjay Naik, MCA secretary, wrote in a letter to all its Apex Council members, reports PTI.
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"The tests are mandatory even for those who have been vaccinated. The report will have to be produced at the time of entry to the stadium on each match day. Hence, you are requested to get yourself tested at your end and carry the negative report to the stadium on match day," the letter added.
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Three of the players training in Mumbai (Devdutt Padikkal, Axar Patel and Daniel Sams) had tested COVID positive, while 12 groundsmen at the venue, too, had tested the same. As a result, MCA has been forced to strict up its COVID measures.
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Maharashtra has been the hot zone for COVID during the second wave, with 9,200 new cases emerging on Friday. Meanwhile, the government has imposed weekend lockdown to curb the surge in the cases.
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