Hyderabad: All the euphoria that usually accompanies the start of a new IPL season is missing this year, thanks to the dreaded Covid-19 which casts a shadow over the richest cricket tournament. Instead, there is a lot of uncertainty and nervousness.
The IPL-14 kicks off Friday with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai, but the BCCI, the eight franchises and the players are sitting on the edge like dark clouds in the form of Covid-19 hover over the tournament.
The BCCI took a big gamble to make it in the middle of the second wave of Covid-19 crisis and did not indicate any plans to move the tournament to the UAE as last year. The IPL-13 in the UAE proceeded uninterrupted, although it was held in September and October.
This time, the BCCI dared to host the IPL in India due to their successful English series at home in all three formats. Even that attended 50 percent after the first Test in the four-Test series. The T20 series saw an almost full house in Narendra Modi Stadium before better sense prevailed to run the match without spectators.
This IPL-14 is now played in front of empty stadiums and also only in six places – Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Ahmedabad and Delhi. Cities like Hyderabad and Mohali got a switch, although Hyderabad and Indore were designated as assistants. There will be 56 games in the league phase, and there is no home advantage for any of the franchises. All play-off matches, including the final, are held in Ahmedabad.
However, the tournament had some nervous moments like the twelve Test Covid-19 positive in the Wankhede Stadium and players like Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Delhi Capitals, Daniel Sams (both Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders) are also positive. However, Padikkal and Rana have since tested negative.
Bio-security is a challenge. Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman said the players took it in the right spirit. All the teams went through the mandatory quarantine of seven days.
For the five-time champions Mumbai Indians, who will be looking for a hat-trick of titles, it is a great starting match as they are faced with a new look from Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have bolstered their team with some interesting additions like Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Jamieson and others.
Source: Telangana Today