The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday confirmed that a total of 13 personnel, including two players, among the touring teams for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Issuing an official statement,the country’s cricket governing’s body said that a total of 1,988 COVID-19 tests were carried out recently and 13 of them are diagnosed with the deadly virus.

The BCCI further revealed that all these affected personnel remain asymptomatic and have been isolated from the other team members.

“Total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th across all participant groups in the UAE. These groups include Players, Support Staff, Team Management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, Hotel and ground transport Staff,” the BCCI said.

“13 personnel have tested positive of which 2 are players. All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL Medical Team,” it added.

The BCCI also stressed that it has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 IPL 2020.

“Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme.As per the IPL 2020 Health and Safety Protocols, testing on all participants will be conducted regularly throughout the IPL 2020 Season,” the statement further said.

Though the BCCI did not reveal the name of the team, there were earlier reports of 12 members of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) testing positive for coronavirus.

The 13th edition of lucrative T20 tournament is slated to take place from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the final match set to be held on a weekday, i.e. Tuesday, for the first time in the history of the tournament.

Earlier, the tournament was postponed indefinitely by the BCCI due to coronavirus pandemic.