The IPL have confirmed that two players, plus another 11 support personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19.
According to reports in India, Deepak Chahar, the India pace bowler, and his Chennai Super Kings teammate Ruturaj Gaekwad are the two players involved.
All the cases are understood to relate to CSK, who were due to start training on Friday after six days in quarantine after arrival from India. Each of the people involved is said to be asymptomatic.
The 13 positive cases were returned from nearly 2,000 tests that were undertaken between August 20 and 28, according to a statement by the organisers.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 season,” the statement said.
“Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme.
“A total of 1,988 RT-PCR Covid tests were carried out between August 20-28 across all participant groups in the UAE.
“These groups include players, support staff, team management, BCCI staff, IPL operational team, hotel and ground transport staff.
Ruturaj Gaekwad. Courtesy: Twitter
“Thirteen personnel have tested positive of which two 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. As per the IPL 2020 health and safety protocols, testing on all participants will be conducted regularly throughout the IPL 2020 Season.”
Raina returned to India and will miss the entire competition, which is due to start on September 19.
IPL stars in UAE
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli hit the gym soon after landing in Dubai. Courtesy Royal Challengers Bangalore twitter / @RCBTweets
Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad players travelled together to the UAE on Sunday for IPL 2020. Courtesy Sunrisers Hyderabad twitter / @SunRisers
Sunrisers Hyderabad's Bhuvneshwar Kumar after landing in UAE for IPL 2020. Courtesy Sunrisers Hyderabad twitter / @SunRisers
Sunrisers Hyderabad players landed in Dubai on Sunday ahead of IPL 2020. Courtesy Sunrisers Hyderabad twitter / @SunRisers
Sunrisers Hyderabad's Sandeep Sharma, left, and Wriddhiman Saha in Dubai on Sunday ahead of IPL 2020. Courtesy Sunrisers Hyderabad twitter / @SunRisers
Sunrisers Hyderabad's Basil Thampi, left, and Khaleel Ahmed after arriving in Dubai on Sunday. Courtesy Sunrisers Hyderabad twitter / @SunRisers
Kolkata Knight Riders' Nitish Rana at the team hotel in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Kolkata Knight Riders twitter / @KKRiders
Delhi Capitals players on their way to the UAE on Sunday for IPL 2020. Courtesy Delhi Capitals twitter / @DelhiCapitals
Mumbai Indians' Krunal Pandya enjoys the view from his team hotel in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Mumbai Indians / @mipaltan
“Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season," KS Viswanathan, CSK’s chief executive, said in a short statement on the team’s Twitter feed.
“Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time.”
MWTC
Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah 5.10pm: Continous 5.45pm: Raging Torrent 6.20pm: West Acre 7pm: Flood Zone 7.40pm: Straight No Chaser 8.15pm: Romantic Warrior 8.50pm: Calandogan 9.30pm: Forever Young
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
