Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir tests positive for COVID-19

Gautam
Gambhir, former India cricketer and East Delhi Lok Sabha MP, on Tuesday
revealed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms.

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“After
experiencing mild symptoms, I tested positive for Covid today. Requesting
everyone who came into my contact to get themselves tested,” the
cricketer-turned-politician tweeted.

In
November last year, Gambhir had isolated himself at home after a family member
tested positive for the virus.

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India
registered a sharp decline in daily Covid-19 cases as 2,55,874 new cases were
recorded in the last 24 hours, down from 3,06,064 cases yesterday. The daily
positivity rate also fell to 15.52% from 20.75% yesterday.

Gambhir
calls for the protection of whistleblowers

Meanwhile,
in a column for the Times of India, Gambhir called on cricket administrators to
provide security to cricketers who report an approach by fixers.

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“Brendan Taylor and his
admission of delay in reporting a corrupt approach has caught my conscience and
attention. I operate on absolute zero tolerance approach when it comes to any
wrongdoing,” Gambhir wrote.

Former
Zimbabwe cricketer Brendan Taylor admitted that he had taken $15,000 as a bribe
from an Indian businessman for spot-fixing. Taylor now faces a multiple-year
ban from international cricket.

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“I
was reading Taylor’s statement with the same emotion – disappointment, disgust
and anger. I read it once but it didn’t make me angry. I read it again and it
was the same. I read it the third time and the emotions were different. Don’t
get me wrong as I am not supporting Taylor. I am only concerned about the
circumstances which forced him, a father of four children fearing for his and
his family’s lives, to delay reporting the incident to the International
Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit. Taylor is a sportsperson and not a
hard-nosed criminal whose faculties would support him if six individuals barged
into his hotel room with a threat to release a video where he was reportedly
consuming a banned substance,” Gambhir added.

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“The
ICC (International Cricket Council) are taking the decision to impose a
multi-year ban on my international cricketing career,” tweeted Taylor,
adding he did not fix any match.