The Indian cricket board is all set to Foot the bill of nearly Rs 10 crore for more than 20,000 Covid-19 tests that are going to be conducted during the Indian Premier League starting September 19. While the eight franchises bore the cost of testing in India, the BCCI has taken the responsibility for the RT-PCR tests which have been conducted since August 20 when the teams started landing in the UAE.
A senior IPL official said, “We have engaged VPS Healthcare, a UAE based company to conduct the tests. While I can’t put a number, it will be more than 20,000 tests which would include everyone.
He further added that the BCCI will be spending something around Rs 10 crore for the COVID tests. Around 75 healthcare workers who are part of the company are a part of the IPL testing process and will be put in a separate hotel.
“We couldn’t have taken the risk. A separate bio-bubble has been created by the company in a hotel, 50 of its health care staff are attached with the testing process while another 25 are engaged in lab and documentation work,” he informed. “The BCCI is however not paying for this bio-bubble and hotel expenses which will be borne by the company.”
A total of 1988 Covid-19 tests were carried out between August 20–28 across all those involved with the tournament, including players and support staff. Team CSK was forced to extend its quarantine after 13 members tested positive. However, all 13 members of the contingent, who had tested positive have returned with negative test results.
Another COVID test will be conducted on September 3 and if the results turn out to be negative, CSK will be allowed to start with their training as early as on September 4.
