Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal – who had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 22 and had been quarantining at home since then. And he tested negative on the 4th of April, traveled to Chennai, and linked up with the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad after returning “negative reports for Covid-19 as per the BCCI’s protocols”. RCB’s Daniel Sams is found to be COVID-19 positive today, so Devadutt’s return to the team is good news for the franchise team. RCB is scheduled to play their first match on April 9 against defending champions Mumbai Indians.
RCB in its official statement said, ‘We are happy to announce that RCB’s left-handed batsman Devadatta Padikkal has joined the team on 7 April 2021. According to the protocol of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he has been associated with the team after the negative reports of Kovid-19. RCB’s medical team was in constant touch with Devdutt.
Padikkal scored the highest number of 473 runs for RCB last season. Padikkal is just the second uncapped player to score more than 400 runs in his debut season in the IPL.
The development comes on a day when RCB’s Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a statement issued by RCB on its Twitter handle, the 28-year-old all-rounder arrived in India on 3 April and had a negative COVID-19 test report at that time.
Meanwhile, RCB is set to play their first match against the defending champions Mumbai Indians on the 9th of April in Chennai.