"Let's see if IPL gets cancelled like the last Test" - Twitter reacts to T Natarajan testing positive for COVID-19
Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and has been put in isolation, along with six individuals who came in close contact with the player.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) announced that the match between SRH and Delhi Capitals later in the day would go ahead as planned.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan took to Twitter to cheekily ask if the IPL 2021 would now be cancelled like the fifth Test between England and India was due to positive cases in the visitors' camp.
Several social media users also asked if this means the season will be postponed again and if there will be a "phase 3" of the IPL.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
Let’s see if the IPL gets cancelled like the last Test !!!!! I guarantee it won’t be … #OnOn twitter.com/cricbuzz/statu…
Will BCCI now cancel the T20 WC to accommodate IPL 2021 phase 3? 🤔🤔
#sportstak @vikrantgupta73 @BoriaMajumdar
Hope all player's mental health is in good condition, especially Virat n Co who fled to UAE from Manchester with covid scare...
No way we'll be having IPL phase 3 now, it's now or IPL 2022. That's it!
#IPL2021
Now bcci will cancel SA tour for ipl phase 3 ? 👀 twitter.com/BoriaMajumdar/…
A player has been tested Covid-19 positive in the IPL, see you soon phase 3 😭
#IPL2021
@vikrantgupta73 Indian players willing to play IPL? wasn’t this similar situation in England too?
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COVID-19 hits IPL 2021 soon after restart
IPL 2021 got underway in India back in April after one season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, due to a series of COVID-19 cases in the tournament's bio-bubble, the IPL 2021 was suspended indefinitely in early May.
A few months later, it was announced that the remainder of the tournament would be held in the UAE from September 19 to October 15. Now, the first COVID case in the IPL has emerged within three days of the restart. The IPL said in a statement on Wednesday:
"Sunrisers Hyderabad player T Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19 at a scheduled RT-PCR test. The player has isolated himself from the rest of the squad. He is currently asymptomatic. The rest of the contingent, including the close contacts, underwent RT-PCR tests at 5 AM local time this morning and the test reports are negative. As a result, tonight's game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals will go ahead at the Dubai International Stadium."
Natarajan's teammate Vijay Shankar has been identified as one of the close contacts while the others include the team manager, a physio, a doctor, their logistics manager and a net bowler.