IPL 2021: Eight groundsmen at Wankhede test COVID-19 positive

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Bengaluru, April 3: The preparations for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season which is set to begin on April 9 suffered a major jolt as eight of the 19 groundsmen at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have tested positive for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IPL 2021 begins with champions Mumbai Indians taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chennai on April 9.

The first match at Wankhede Stadium is on April 10th with Chennai Kings taking on Delhi Capitals.

The Sportstar reported that all the 19 groundstaff members at the Wankhede Stadium underwent routine RT-PCR tests over the last week.

While three were confirmed to have contracted the virus during the tests conducted on March 26, five more reports from the tests conducted on April 1 returned positive a day later, taking the overall tally to eight.

In total, six bio-bubbles are being prepared for IPL 2021 and Mumbai is one of them.

A total of 10 matches are supposed to be played at Mumbai from April 10 to 25.

One of the highlights of IPL 2021 is the fact that all matches will be played at neutral venues, with no team getting the home advantage. All teams will play at four out of six venues during the league stage.

The World's Largest Cricket Stadium - Narendra Modi Stadium - in Ahmedabad will host the play-offs as well as the final on May 30.

The tournament will be played behind closed doors, to begin with, and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage.