Hyderabad: COVID-19, that dreaded and deadly disease which wreaked havoc across the world for over two years at the start of the current decade, seems to be back in the headlines.
The viral infection, which caused nearly 7 million deaths between 2020 and 2023, has seen a sharp spike in places like Singapore and Hong Kong recently.
Now, IPL 2025 has also been linked to a COVID case.
The 18th edition of IPL, which was suspended for a week due to the India-Pakistan conflict, restarted on May 17.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who will resume their campaign on May 18, are set to miss their explosive opener Travis Head.
The left-handed opener, who had returned home last week following the suspension of IPL, has not been able to rejoin the SRH squad which is in Lucknow for the game against Lucknow Super Giants.
According to SRH head coach Daniel Vettori, Head is expected to arrive in India on Monday only, and hence won’t be available for the match.
“He had COVID-19, and unfortunately, he couldn’t travel. We’re hopeful of having him back for the next game once he’s fully recovered and cleared to join the squad,” Vettori said at the pre-match conference on Sunday.
Head and SRH captain Pat Cummins are in Australia’s squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, commencing at Lord’s on June 11.
There were doubts over their return to IPL, considering SRH have already been ruled out of the race for playoffs.
But both decided to travel to India, and will leave India straight after the completion of the league phase to join their Australian teammates for the WTC final preparation.