IPL 2020: There's little bit of apprehension, says Williamson amid COVID fear
Sep 02, 2020
Auckland [New Zealand], September 2 : New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has said that the outbreak of COVID cases within Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises has raised some "apprehension" about the tournament.
He has said that this outbreak will force everyone to be vigilant about their health and surroundings.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, Williamson will be leaving for UAE on September 3 to link up with his SunRisers Hyderabad squad.
"Obviously that's bad news. You don't want to hear anybody has COVID. I hear they are predominantly asymptomatic, so hopefully, through another lockdown period, they can come through and we'll be okay. There's a little bit of apprehension, certainly as you get nearer to the time...you start thinking you do have to be extremely vigilant and disciplined," ESPNCricinfo quoted Williamson as saying to Radio New Zealand.
New Zealand Cricket's CEO David White has also said that the board is keeping a tab on the situation in UAE. He added that the board is in constant touch with the BCCI as well.
"We've been in close contact with the BCCI, we are very comfortable with all the process they have in place. Likewise, with the CPL, we've got nine players there at the moment and they've been very vigilant with their systems as well. We're in close collaboration with all the member countries around the world," ESPNCricinfo quoted White as saying.
On Tuesday, Chennai Super Kings' CEO Kasi Viswanathan announced that the ones who tested positive for COVID-19 last week will be tested only after their 14-day quarantine period is over.
Speaking to ANI, the CEO had said that there has been no fresh case and the contingent is negative except for the ones who had tested positive earlier.
"Those who tested positive earlier will be tested again only after 14 days," he said.
On August 29, the BCCI had confirmed that 13 personnel including two players had tested positive for COVID-19. However, the board did not specify as to which team had how many confirmed cases. The identity of the players and staff was also not revealed.
"13 personnel have tested positive of which 2 are players. All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL Medical Team," the BCCI had said in an official release.
The IPL 2020 will be played from September 19-November 10 in the UAE across three venues --Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
The initial tournament would be played without fans, and all the teams would be staying in a bio-secure bubble as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus.
