A member of the Indian cricket team currently touring England has tested positive for Covid-19, and is isolating at an acquaintance's home.
The player has been identified as Rishabh Pant by several Indian media reports citing sources. A source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told news agency PTI that the player has been in isolation for the last eight days.
He will not travel with the team to Durham, where the rest of the team are due to enter a so-called “bio-bubble”, restricting their access to and contact with people outside the team and staff. The Indian team is scheduled to play a tour game against Select County XI from 20 July.
India and England then begin a five-match Test series starting 4 August.
Pant was tested after he experienced a sore throat, sources told The Indian Express. Other teammates and support staff who came in contact with him were kept in isolation for three days, it said.
The Indian players were on a 20-day break after the World Test Championship final which ended on 23 June.
BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla told PTI that other players haven’t been affected because the infected player was not staying in the same hotel as the team, though he did not refer to Pant by name.
He also said that BCCI secretary Jay Shah has written a letter to all players to urge them to maintain protocols.
In his letter, Mr Shah had reportedly warned the players about the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the UK and advised them to avoid crowded places.
This comes after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed last week that seven members — three players and four staff members — of the England team tested positive for coronavirus.
Other players were deemed close contacts and told to isolate. England named an entirely new squad for their limited-overs series against Pakistan.
