Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting won’t be travelling with the team to the Wankhede stadium for this evening’s game against Rajasthan Royals according to a Indian Express report. The former Australia captain was isolated from the rest of the squad after one of his family members, staying with him at the team hotel, tested positive. The entire DC camp – including players, support staff and family members – had undergone Rapid Antigen Test on Thursday and Friday. With Ponting out, DC support staff Pravin Amre, Ajit Agarkar, James Hopes and Shane Watson will now handle backroom strategies for the game against Rajasthan Royals.
Patrick Farhart, the team's physiotherapist, and a member of the support staff first tested positive and were placed in quarantine last week. Australian batter Mitchell Marsh then returned a positive test on Monday, prompting the entire team to be isolated. A total of six cases of Covid have been discovered in the Delhi camp since then. The latest member to test positive was New Zealand batter, Tim Seifert. The whole Delhi Capitals squad was placed in quarantine before the match against Punjab. It was because of this that the Indian cricket board has been conducting a series of tests – four on Thursday and two on Friday- on the Delhi Capitals team members. Earlier, the positive tests had resulted in a change of schedule and venue. The Delhi Capitals-Punjab Kings match that was earlier scheduled to be played at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium was moved to Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday. This was done to avoid any further transmission of the virus due to any undetected case during a long-distance bus journey in a closed environment.
