South Africa all-rounder Aiden Markram has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the first T20I against India at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday. There is no bio-bubble in the India vs South Africa series and thus players are being tested regularly. Proteas captain Temba Bavuma disclosed this during the toss. Tristan Stubbs made his international debut in place of Markram.
“Aiden was not available for selection as he tested positive for Covid, Stubbs came and it is a start for him. We have two all-rounders; Dwayne and Parnell also come into the fold. It is an important series as we have Bavuma said during the toss, “I have been together as a group since the World Cup, it is preparation for the World Cup to be held in Australia. It is going to build momentum and build confidence for us.”
Earlier, the BCCI had taken a bold decision to remove the bio-bubble in the India vs South Africa series. Bio-bubbles became a part of cricketers’ lives with almost all series (home and away) being played in a strict bio-secure environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A senior BCCI official, on the condition of anonymity, told PTI, “If all goes well and things are under control as they are now, there will be no bio-bubbles and hard quarantine during the home series against South Africa. ” We are going to Ireland and England and there will be no bio-bubble in those countries as well.
“Some players get breaks from time to time, but if you look at the bigger picture, being in one series after another in a bio-bubble and now two months of IPL is exhausting for the players,” he said.
playing XI
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (captain and wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Reeza Hendrix, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Dwayne Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Tabrez Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Enrique Nortje