The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has been suspended after two more Covid-19 positive cases emerged on Tuesday.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- IPL 2021 has been suspended due to a string of Covid-19 positive results over on Monday and Tuesday
- On Monday, two KKR players and support staff in the CSK camp had tested positive for the virus
- On Tuesday, SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha and DC’s Amit Mishra returned positive test reports
The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has been suspended after two more Covid-19 positive cases — Wriddhiman Saha of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Amit Mishra of Delhi Capitals — emerged on Tuesday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will reschedule the remaining games of the T20 league at a later time.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players, Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier had returned positive Covid-19 reports on Monday. The development saw the BCCI suspend the game between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore while L Balaji’s covid-positive case forced the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad into quarantine too.
On Tuesday, a BCCI official had confirmed that the virus case in the CSK camp forced the organisers to reschedule Wednesday’s game between Chennai and Rajasthan Royals too. Only hours later, Saha and Mishra’s reports also turned out to be positive, forcing the board to suspend the league indefinitely.
The T20 league had been on thin ice over the past week or so. After a number of overseas players — Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Liam Livingstone and Andrew Tye — decided to withdraw from the league citing Covid risk and the threat of being locked out of their own countries due to travel restrictions, a number of other players had also expressed apprehensions.
The BCCI had then released a statement assuring the foreign players of safe return home after the completion of the league. Things, however, soon went out of control with a number of players testing positive for the virus, suggesting multiple incidents of a breach.As per a report in the Times of India, the IPL franchises had taken up the matter with the BCCI, pushing them to suspend the league for now and look for a later window.
“You can host it after three months, five months, six months. It doesn’t matter. But right now, it needs to stop”, a source was quoted as saying by TOI. “And now, the overseas players too want to go home. They’re clear they can’t take this anymore. And it’s understandable why they’re thinking that way,” say those tracking developments told the paper.
In their official statement, the BCCI and IPL GC said: “The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind.
These are difficult times, especially in India and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times.
The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.
The BCCI would like to thank all the healthcare workers, state associations, players, support staff, franchises, sponsors, partners and all the service providers who have tried their best to organise IPL 2021 even in these extremely difficult times.”
On Wednesday, a BCCI official had also confirmed of the board’s plan to take the entire league to Mumbai where the remaining matches could be held at the city’s stadiums – Brabourne, Wankhede and DY Patil. While the change was still in the planning stage, more positive cases left the board with little option but to suspend the league.
Faulty GPS trackers, the task of finding bio-bubble suitable hotels in quick time, getting the hotel staff to quarantine as well as the risk of contracting the virus during travel are some of the other reasons that played their role in the suspension of the league.
