COVID positive players allowed to play T20 World Cup matches

The 2022 T20 World Cup has started in Australia and the ICC has confirmed that players with COVID-19 will be permitted to play the matches, according to a report by cricket.com.au.

According to the report, ICC said there will be no mandatory testing during the tournament and no isolation period if a player gets the virus. In these cases, the onus will be on the team doctors “to assess whether it is appropriate” for players to compete if they contract the virus.

Teams will be permitted to make squad changes should a player return a positive report with the infected player and then allowed to return to the squad upon returning a negative test, the report stated.

Australia, which had enforced the strict restrictions when the pandemic was in full swing, will deal with the situation with a soft approach this time around.

This will not be the first instance of a player being allowed to play a match even after testing Covid positive, as the women’s cricket final between Australia and India in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in August saw Australia all-rounder Tahlia McGrath getting the nod to play the gold-medal match despite returning a Covid-positive test earlier in the day. 

She sat away from her teammates with a mask on, awaiting her turn to bat, and when Australia fielded, she bowled two overs and waved away teammates rushing to celebrate after she took the catch of Shafali Verma.

After Australia's nine-run win, though, the distancing norms were forgotten in the frenzy of the team’s celebration.