At least seven people, including crickets Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shreyas Iyer, have tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the West Indies series, which starts in Ahmedabad on February 6.

The team arrived in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the series and were going through a three-day isolation period post their break from the South Africa series. During the mandatory isolation period, seven people tested positive for the virus. Apart from the trio, at least three support staff and net bowler Navdeep Saini have tested positive. 

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Iyer, Dhawan and Gaikwad will now have to undergo week-long isolation, which means they will be missing the series.

“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 other names that can be confirmed are net bowler Navdeep Saini, masseur Rajiv Kumar. There are two other cases, one being part of team’s security staff and the other is among the drivers,” the source informed.

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“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 added.

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This is the second time Ruturaj Gaikwad 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 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.