IPL 2021: Rescheduling will become a nightmare for BCCI

Bengaluru, May 4: A spate of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season has literally left the Board of Control for Cricket in India a fix as rescheduling of matches will be a herculean task hereafter.

The BCCI was forced to postpone Match 30 of IPL 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday (May 3) after two players from the Kolkata franchise -- Sandeep Warrier and Varun Chakravarthy -- tested positive.

A statement issued by BCCI said the KKR camp will now have to be tested on a daily basis.

Crisis hits KKR as 2 players test COVID-19 positive, match against RCB rescheduled

The matter did not end there as later on Monday, it was revealed the Chennai Super Kings camp too has been affected.

Bowling coach L Balaji, CEO of the Chennai-based club KS Vishwanathan and a team bus cleaner have tested positive.

IPL 2021: Covid-positive cases in Chennai Super Kings: BCCI Official

While the entire KKR team has gone for a six-day hard quarantine, Balaji, who is a regular feature in the CSK dug-out has gone into isolation after returning with two RT-PCR positive tests.

"Balaji's positive report is certainly a cause of concern although the CSK players have tested negative. There're discussions whether it's safe to go ahead with the next two matches in Delhi," a senior BCCI source told PTI news agency on conditions of anonymity.

CSK bowling coach L Balaji's testing positive inside bubble puts Delhi games in fix

The bigger headache for BCCI now will be the rescheduling of matches as the Delhi leg ends on May 8 after which the Cluster Caravan is supposed to move to Bengaluru and Kolkata.

With CSK having played Mumbai Indians on May 1, it is imperative now that players from the Mumbai camp will also have to be tested.

Since KKR is doing everyday testing with six days of hard quarantine, many believe that the same rule should be applicable for CSK also before they play their next match.

"Balaji was in the dug-out and also before and after the match, he interacted with Mumbai Indians players which's natural. Now you can test everyday but just like KKR's match has been postponed, it's prudent if MI's match against SunRisers Hyderabad on Tuesday and CSK's game against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday is rescheduled," the influential BCCI official added.