With the spread of COVID going unabated, the Delhi franchise received another blow as the Head Coach Ricky Ponting went into isolation after his family member tested positive, on Friday.
In an official statement released by Delhi Capitals, it is said that the family member of Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting has tested positive for COVID-19.
The family has now been moved into an isolation facility and is being well taken care of. Ponting himself has tested negative twice subsequently. However, in the best interest of the team, the management and medical team have decided that he will remain in isolation for five days, as he was a close contact, the statement read.
Detailing Ponting’s presence for the Rajasthan Royals match, it is said that he will not be present at the ground for tonight’s game against Rajasthan Royals.
“The franchise requests for Ponting and his family’s privacy to be respected in the current scenario. The condition of all individuals in the bubble who have tested positive so far is being closely monitored. The team looks forward to everyone’s speedy recovery,” the media note read further.
Considering the current status of the team, it is at a crucial point in the IPL stage where losing a single match would show an adverse impact on the team’s reaching to playoffs. At this juncture, the absence of Ricky Ponting from the dugout would really alter players’ performance as the team would be missing the coach’s continuous observation.
It may be recalled here that, the COVID-19 scare started accumulating its ground by infecting five people initially. On April 18, Mitchell Marsh was hospitalized after testing positive, and considering the spread of the virus a decision to shift the game from Pune to Mumbai was taken. Tim Siefert tested positive for COVID on April 20, making him the sixth COVID case in Delhi’s contingent.
While playing against Punjab Kings on Wednesday, head coach Ricky Ponting and the players in the dugout were seen wearing masks in the dugout. After testing negative in RT-PCR tests done on the day of the match, players and support personnel were seen implementing the COVID guidelines.
