WTC Final 2023: BCCI Covid Policy is all set to change. While as per the current policy, a player who tests positive must be in isolation for five days, it is likely to be on the ICC lines. BCCI could allow India Cricket Team to play despite testing positive for Covid-19. While ICC changed its stance on Covid-19 policy and allowed players to take part despite testing positive for Commonwealth Games, BCCI stuck to its guns. For the IPL 2023, players must be in a 7-day isolation. Rohit Sharma missed out on India vs England 5th Test with covid. Follow India vs Australia World Test Championship Final LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
However, to avoid another situation where the Test captain misses out on the biggest Test match, BCCI is likely to reverse its policy. A player can now take part in the match despite testing positive if he does not show any symptoms.
“We are in discussion if we should reverse the Covid policy for WTC and follow the ICC guideline on this. We have the old Covid policy in place for IPL 2023 to minimise the risk of exposure in case of an outbreak. But all the players and officials are vaccinated with booster shots. Hence, it should not be a problem,” a BCCI official told InsideSport.
What does ICC say?
While dropping mandatory biosecurity protocols for ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, ICC stated that team doctors will take the necessary steps on a case-by-case basis and “to assess whether it is appropriate”. That means if the team doctor deems a player unfit to play with Covid, he will remain in isolation.
In the case of Rohit Sharma, he tested negative only on the match day and missed out on the 5th Test against England last year.
What does BCCI’s current Covid policy say?
BCCI has mandated all players testing positive must remain in a 5-day isolation period irrespective of severity and viral load. Furthermore, a player must undergo mandatory cardio-vascular tests before returning to the field.
But despite the rise in the number of Covid cases in India, BCCI is likely to follow local health advisory. In the UK, currently, there is no mask mandate or testing policy and neither mandatory isolation period.
- Hence, as a change in stance, BCCI is likely to allow players to take part in the WTC final even if he has tested positive for the virus.
- But the positive player cannot share the same dressing room.
- He will wear mask at all times and will be separated from the squad.
- A team doctor will monitor him before taking the final call.
- On the field, he will likely to wear a mask and not celebrate with the team.
India squad WTC Final: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
Australia squad WTC Final: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
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