BCCI unhappy with players hanging out in public in England after Rohit Sharma’s COVID-positive case: Report

After Indian skipper Rohit Sharma tested positive for COVID-19, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expressed a strict warning to all players in England to limit their public appearances and hangouts and has advised them to stay indoors.

Rohit tested COVID-19 positive following a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) conducted on Saturday. The 35-year-old, who was part of India’s recently-concluded four-day warm-up game against Leicestershire, has gone into quarantine.

Notably, England has lifted bio-bubble and isolation-related protocols. But the COVID-19 is still not over, and players have failed to protect the side from the virus completely. BCCI has expressed unhappiness over the fact that some of the Indian players went out in public and clicked pictures with their fans which could be dangerous.

Reportedly, it was seen that star batters such as Virat Kohli and Rohit were hanging out in public and pictures of them went viral on the internet in which they were spotted clicking pictures with their fans.

“The board has scolded some players over their habit of hanging out in public. It also seems some players went in public and clicked pictures with fans, which could be dangerous. We had told them to stay careful, but they still often roamed around in the city, which is not required, so we asked them again to take precautions,” a source from BCCI told ANI.

India are scheduled to play the rearranged fifth Test against England, starting July 1 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The Test is the conclusion of the series from last year, which was suspended following a Covid-19 outbreak in the India team. The visitors, under the leadership of then captain Virat Kohli, had taken a 2-1 lead.