Dravid tests positive for COVID-19, not travelling to Dubai for Asia Cup for now: BCCI sources
New Delhi (PTI): India head coach Rahul Dravid has tested positive for COVID-19 and didn't accompany the Rohit Sharma-led team that left for Dubai to compete in the Asia Cup, starting August 27.
India play arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening game on August 28.
"Rahul Dravid has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently in isolation. We are still hopeful that he will recover soon and might join the team in due course," a senior BCCI official told PTI on the conditions of anonymity.
It is understood that for the time being, assistant coach Paras Mhambrey will be in-charge of the team but a call on whether NCA head VVS Laxman will join the team in Dubai will be taken later on Tuesday.
"We haven't taken a call on whether VVS will be going to Dubai from Harare or not. A call will be taken accordingly and if required, he will join. Till then Paras Mhambrey will be in-charge. All other members are fit and left for UAE early in the day," he also confirmed.
While majority of the members of the team left from Mumbai on Tuesday morning, vice-captain KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda and reserve player Axar Patel will travel from Harare, having finished their Zimbabwe assignment.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Death toll rises to nine; search ops continue at Bargi Dam
Jabalpur (PTI): The death toll in the Bargi Dam tragedy rose to nine on Friday, as rescuers recovered the bodies of five more persons who were on the cruise boat that overturned in the reservoir in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur.
Talking to PTI Videos, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Minister Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi said, "Four bodies were recovered on Thursday, while five were found in the early hours during the rescue operation, taking the toll to nine."
As many as 22 people have been rescued so far, he said.
The minister said that a thorough probe will be conducted, and the issue of life jackets, raised by one of the survivors, will also be investigated.
The rescue operation is underway in full swing to trace the missing persons, Lodhi said.
A cruise boat with 29 passengers and two crew members onboard overturned in the Bargi Dam after encountering a sudden storm on Thursday evening, officials said.
The Bargi Dam is constructed on the Narmada River in Jabalpur district.
A search and rescue operation for the missing passengers continued overnight with teams from the Army, NDRF and SDRF joining in, State PWD Minister Rakesh Singh said.
Hydraulic cranes are being used to pull out the cruise boat from the water body, he said.
According to eyewitnesses, strong winds made the water choppy, prompting many on board to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the boat back to the banks.
However, the crew was unable to hear these shouts, and the boat drifted and then overturned, they said, adding that some locals rescued a few passengers wearing life jackets with the help of a rope.
