COVID outbreak in India camp: Dhawan, Gaikwad, Shreyas and multiple non-coaching staff test positive
New Delhi, Feb 2: A COVID-19 outbreak hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three players -- senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer -- tested positive for the virus along with four support staff during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series.
The Indian team assembled in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies and were going through a three-day isolation period post their break from the South Africa series.
The series starts in Ahmedabad on February 6 with India's 1000th ODI match but it is now a foregone conclusion that the trio will be missing the series as they will have to undergo a week-long isolation and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests.
"Three players -- Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan have tested positive. However there are multiple COVID positive cases among non-coaching administrative support staff. It could be between two to four people," a veteran BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"The players are largely asymptomatic and hopefully will be fine by the end of the isolation period. You feel bad for Shikhar as he might have to miss the series and he is not a part of T20 squad," the official said.
Even more disappointing is young Ruturaj Gaikwad's case as this is the second time in one and a half years that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
"If you remember, Ruturaj had tested positive in UAE during the 2020 IPL and went through hell. He had a 14-day quarantine back then and missed first part of the season in the Emirates. This is the second time he has tested positive," the official said.
It is confirmed that captain Rohit Sharma, senior players like Virat Kohli and coach Rahul Dravid have all tested negative as of Wednesday.
"They have returned negative as of today."
All those who tested negative will complete their mandatory isolation on Thursday. They will enter the bubble, if they test negative again on Thursday.
"The testing protocol set by BCCI medical team is for every day RT-PCR as RAT (Rapid Antigen Test) is often not conclusive. Although teams are supplied with RAT kits in case any player shows symptoms and wants to do a self test," the veteran official said.
It is expected that M Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore, Rishi Dhawan, who are stand byes for the series, will now get a look-in to be in the squad.
As far as Rohit Sharma's opening partner is concerned, Venkatesh Iyer, a specialist opener in the T20 squad, or Jharkhand's Ishan Kishan could be tried out.
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Thousands protest in Washington DC against Trump ahead of inauguration
Washington: Thousands of people have gathered in Washington to protest against Donald Trump's policies ahead of his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.
Trump, 78, succeeds Joe Biden, 82, on Tuesday as the new occupant of the White House. A coalition of nonprofit bodies, including Sakhi for South Asian Survivors, under the banner of People’s March, held the demonstration here to protest against the policies of Trump.
The People's March - previously known as the Women's March - has taken place every year since 2017.
Displaying anti-Trump posters and banner, the protestors raised slogans against the next President and also against some of his close supporters including Tesla owner Elon Musk.
The same group had also held a similar protest on January 2017, when Trump was inaugurated for the first time.
There were a series of three protests which started from three different parks and culminated near the Lincoln Memorial.
“Mass protest is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate to our communities that we are not obeying in advance or bowing to fascism, and invites them to do the same,” People’s March said.
The rallies coincide with Trump's arrival to the nation's capital for a series of weekend events in the lead-up to his swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
Amongst the coalition members are Abortion Action Now, Time to Act, SisterSong, Women’s March, Popular Democracy In Action, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, The Feminist Front, NOW, Planned Parenthood, National Women’s Law Centre Action Fund, Sierra Club, and the Frontline.
Women’s March is anchoring the logistics of the mobilisation. Similar marches, though at a smaller scale, were also held in various other cities including New York, Seattle and Chicago.
“We really wanted to come to support women, equality, immigration, everything that really feels like we don't have much of a say in right now," Brittany Martinez, one of the protesters, told USA TODAY.
Law enforcement officials said protests and major events are being planned throughout the weekend ahead of the inauguration on Monday. The protestors condemned Trump’s policies and values. Many of them chanted, "Trans Lives Matter!", “Stand up, fight back!”, “Trust Black women!” and “We cannot be silent.”
