The entire world is suffering from Coronavirus outbreak as the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it as a pandemic. Meanwhile, Australia paceman Kane Richardson has been tested for COVID-19, and that’s why he missed the opening One-Day International (ODI) game of the three-match series against New Zealand on Friday in Sydney.
Richardson reported a mild sore throat on Thursday and is being quarantined with the results still pending. New South Wales bowler Sean Abbott has joined the squad as cover for Richardson.
“Our medical staff are treating this as a typical throat infection, but we are following Australian Government protocols that require us to keep Kane away from other members of the squad and perform the appropriate tests given he has returned from international travel in the last 14 days,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said as quoted by cricket.com.au.
“Once we receive the results of the tests and Kane recovers in the next few days, we expect he will re-join the team. We will not be making further comment until something changes,” spokesperson added.
Cricket Australia also announced that the ongoing series will be played in front of empty stands.
As per media reports, the deadly disease was first noticed in China’s Wuhan and has since spread worldwide. More than 127,000 people have been infected with Coronavirus, with over 4,700 having died and 68,000 recovered.