SA cricket team to stay at Rajarhat hotel, likely to be quarantined

Kolkata: As a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of COVID-19, the South Africa cricket team will have to board in a hotel in the city's outskirts at Rajarhat instead of staying at Taj Bengal that is situated close to the city's congested business district.

The move has been taken following the intervention of the state government by alerting the concerned authorities about the risk if the team members stay in the heart of the city.

Moreover, they will be quarantined in the West Inn Hotel where they will be staying till March 19 when they are scheduled to take flight for Johannesburg from Kolkata Airport. The entire contingent of the South Africa cricket team is comprises of 25 members. They came to India for a 10-day tour.

Their first match at Dharamsala was cancelled due to rain. The last two matches of the series against India were called up in the view of the threat of COVID-19.

The last two matches were scheduled to be held in Lucknow and Kolkata on March 15 and 18 respectively. As the matches were cancelled, there was initial discussion that they will go to Delhi from Lucknow to take a flight for Johannesburg. But for some reason, the plan was cancelled and it was decided that they will come to Kolkata and take their flight from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on March 19.

They were earlier slated to stay at Taj Bengal here. But the state government raised an alarm in this connection and finally it was decided that they will board at West Inn Hotel at Rajarhat which is also close to the airport.

Doctors from a private hospital will be screening them at the airport and hotel before their entry. They will also be quarantined in the hotel itself. Avishek Dalmiya, President of Cricket Association of Bengal, will be supervising and handling the entire matter.