The fervour surrounding IPL 2021 is at a peak with the tournament set to  begin on April 9 – here are a news updates from the past week to keep you up to date with the happenings around the league.

IPL 2021 News Updates

COVID-19 scare in IPL 2021

RCB all-rounder Daniel Sams became the latest entry in a worrying list of Covid-19 positive cases in the tournament.

Earlier, Delhi Capitals were dealt a blow with all-rounder Axar Patel testing positive for COVID-19. Having entered the bubble with a negative test on March 28, Axar subsequently tested positive and is in quarantine. Nitish Rana was another who tested positive in the bubble, but after a 12-day quarantine, he tested negative and has since started training.

Another latest IPL 2021 news is from the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s camp. Their 20-year-old opener Devdutt Padikkal tested positive on March 22 and will reportedly “join the RCB bio-bubble once his RT-PCR tests are negative.” According to reports, Padikkal has tested negative on April 5, and has joined the RCB squad, but will still miss the first game against Mumbai.

Withdrawals and replacements

RCB’s Josh Philippe had withdrawn from the IPL last month with Finn Allen signing up as his replacement.

Two other Australians withdrew from IPL 2021 and hit the news headlines – Josh Hazlewood (CSK) and Mitchell Marsh (SRH). Marsh was subsequently replaced by Jason Roy in the Sunrisers Hyderabad setup. CSK are yet to name a replacement.

Availability concerns

South Africa players might miss the first fixture of their respective teams with them flying out only after the second ODI against Pakistan. If they need to undergo the mandatory quarantine period, they will miss the first game, but at the moment there is no official confirmation on the same. It helps that they are moving from one bubble to another.

Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Lungi Ngidi flew to Mumbai after the second ODI between South Africa and Pakistan. Quinton de Kock has flown to Chennai to join the Mumbai Indians squad ahead of the opening game against RCB.

Jalaj Saxena has a new weapon up his sleeve

Jalaj Saxena, the domestic all-round star who has a gig with Punjab Kings this time, has revealed that he has been working on a carrom ball to add to his repertoire. In the domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, Saxena had taken 10 wickets from five matches at an economy of 6.26.

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