Mathews made his T20 comeback for Sri Lanka in January after a three-year gap
The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended by the BCCI after a few players and members of the support staff tested positive for the Covid-19.
The decision to suspend the league came after an emergency BCCI meeting on Tuesday.
“The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect,” the BCCI said in a statement.
“The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind.”
The Indian cricket board will now ensure the safe return of all the players in the tournament.
“The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021,” it said.
“The BCCI would like to thank all the healthcare workers, state associations, players, support staff, franchises, sponsors, partners and all the service providers who have tried their best to organise IPL 2021 even in these extremely difficult times.”
On Monday, two Kolkata Knight Riders players — Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier — tested positive for Covid-19 before reports emerged that even CSK bowling coach L Balaji returned with two RT-PCR positive results.
Meanwhile, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha also tested positive for Covid-19, the Sunrisers Hyderabad confirmed on Tuesday.
Sources within the SRH camp confirmed to ANI that Saha was the lone person in their camp to have tested positive.
“Yes, Wriddhiman Saha has tested positive for the coronavirus. Our entire team is now under isolation and there are no other positive reports, rest are all negative,” a member of the team management said.
But BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said the board would look to reschedule the tournament.
“IPL has been suspended, we will see whether we can reschedule it, it is not cancelled. It is just suspended for now,” Shukla told ANI.
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