Covid-19 strikes two Chandigarh cricketers as training camp starts

CHANDIGARH: Two senior members of

Chandigarh cricket team

have tested positive for

Covid-19

at the start of their preparatory camp for

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

.


Fast

bowler

Shresth Nirmohi and middle-order

batsman

Raman Bishnoi are

asymptomatic

. If they do not recover quickly, it will be a major setback for the team as they are looking favourites to top the plate group.

TOI understands that both the

cricketers

will get tested again in a week, and if their results come negative, only then they will be allowed to travel with the team.

Plate group teams — Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh — will play their matches in Chennai.

The teams are required to assemble in their respective host cities on or before January 2 and undergo three rounds of Covid-19 tests — on January 2, 4, and 6 — before they can start training. There will be two more rounds of testing on January 20 and 22 before the knockouts.

Speaking to TOI, Nirmohi said, “You can't help it. I don't have any symptoms, but I will follow all the necessary protocols. I have put myself into quarantine and will wait for further orders from UT Cricket Association.”

The 29-year-old pacer showed a lot of character last year on his Ranji Trophy debut. He bagged Chandigarh's first five-wicket haul, while his mother, Anjali Nirmohi, was fighting pulmonary edema (excess fluid in the lungs) in a private hospital 10 km away from the Sector 16 cricket stadium.

Nirmohi was the pick of the bowler for Chandigarh in all three formats, while Bishnoi showed his prowess with the bat in the Ranji Trophy. Last year, Nirmohi scalped seven wickets in as many matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali.

With 13 wickets in eight matches, he was the leading wicket-taker for Chandigarh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the Ranji Trophy, Nirmohi has 32 wickets in seven games.

Bishnoi, on the other hand, was with the Chandigarh U-23 squad, but an impressive run in the CK Nayudu Trophy helped him to break into the senior team. He ended up being the second leading run-getter behind skipper Manan Vohra. Bishnoi amassed 549 runs with an average of 68.62, including three centuries and two halfcenturies.

A 10-day preparatory camp Chandigarh cricket team for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is under way at the Sector 16 cricket stadium.


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