Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal – who had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 22 – has tested negative on Monday and will join the RCB bio-bubble after another negative test. This would come as a piece of good news for RCB fans – who would be hoping their young opener continues his ominous form from the domestic season into the IPL.
In all likelihood, he would be fit in time for the season opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians on 9th of April.
Official Statement: Devdutt Padikkal tested positive for COVID-19 on 22nd March 2021. He has been in mandatory quarantine at his residence in Bengaluru since then. Devdutt will be fit to join the RCB bio-bubble once his RT-PCR tests are negative, as per IPL protocol.
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 4, 2021
RCB Medical team is in touch with Devdutt ensuring his safety and well-being. He is feeling well and we can’t wait to have him join the squad for #IPL2021
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 4, 2021
Padikkal was the leading run-scorer for the Royal Challengers in IPL 2020, his debut season, scoring 473 runs at an average of 31.53 and a strike rate of 124.80. Coming into this season, he had a stellar Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy too, where he tallied 218 runs in six innings at an average of 43.60 and a strike rate of 134.56.
Padikkal was the third case of an IPL player testing positive come to light. Apart from Padikkal, the Delhi Capitals’ Axar Patel and the Kolkata Knight Riders’ Nitish Rana too have tested positive for Covid-19.
Patel had checked into the team hotel in Mumbai on March 28 after arriving with a negative Covid-19 report, but returned a positive test after that. Rana, meanwhile, has tested negative and joined the team training sessions after an extended 12-day quarantine, also in Mumbai.
