The Mumbai team was hit by Covid-19 crisis as four of its players had to be withdrawn from the squad hours before they took off to take part in the tournament. Sarfaraz Khan, Prashant Solanki, Shams Mulani and Sairaj Patil were found to be Covid positive at the Mumbai airport. All four were sent home and told to self-isolate for seven days. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials have said replacements will be sent soon. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side was on its way to Guwahati on Wednesday (October 27) morning when the players were found to be Covid positive. Mumbai are clubbed in the Elite B Group with Karnataka, Bengal, Baroda, Chhattisgarh and Services.
All the players have been practising at the Wankhede in the recent times and same was done on Tuesday, the day before their scheduled departure. "This is the reality of the times. We cannot avoid Covid even after taking best possible measures. The mandatory RT-PCR test was done a day before and the players were told not to go to the airport if any one of them is positive. But they still went. On seeing the positive report, they were sent back from the airport," an MCA official said adding, "The selectors have been informed and they will pick the replacements." SMAT starts on November 4 at Lucknow, Baroda, Delhi, Vijayawada and Haryana besides in Guwahati but the players have to report a week before to undergo five-day pre-tournament quarantine.
