IPL 2021 in jeopardy, worried BCCI official says, ‘like this we may have to postpone IPL 2021’

May 3, 2021

IPL 2021 Postponement – The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) is in complete disarray and jeopardy. Multiple Covid-19 cases on Monday morning in Kolkata Knight Riders & Chennai Super Kings squad has rattled BCCI officials. The Indian board officials who normally sound very confident on things, are now doubtful that IPL 2021 can continue like this. On Monday morning, first BCCI had to announce postponement of KKR vs RCB match in Ahmedabad and then were rocked by positive cases in CSK support staff and also DDCA’s ground staff in Delhi.

“Situation is getting very tricky now. We are completely shocked by positive cases in KKR camp. How and when that happened is yet to be ascertained. These KKR players must have met others and so is CSK support staff members. Though nothing is discussed officially as yet, but like this we have to postponed IPL 2021 as this menace has gripped the entire nation”, said rattled BCCI official who normally sounds very confident in most of the trickiest situations.

InsideSport further asked the BCCI official & one of the Governing Council member so how BCCI is moving forward on the situation?

“See, today’s game is postponed. The discussions have started on the way forward. We can’t comment right now. But the scheduling now would get very difficult. But my personal view is that it will not be right to risk anyone’s life in these circumstances”, said the official.

A IPL Governing Council member called the situation “grim” and said a decision on the way forward will be taken soon. “It is a very grim situation. No one expected this. The committee will soon meet to discuss on the matter,” he told InsideSport.

IPL 2021 in jeopardy, worried BCCI official says, ‘like this we may have to postpone IPL 2021’

Until Monday, BCCI could claim that its IPL bio-bubble is the most secure place on earth. However, all these claims came falling face-first after multiple positive cases were reported. While Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier’s positive report forced the Indian board to postpone the KKR vs RCB clash.

Not only this but dark clouds also loom over MI vs SRH clash after five DDCA ground staff also tested positive. Furthermore, three members of Chennai Super Kings have also tested positive for Covid-19. Three members of the Chennai Super Kings’ IPL contingent – chief executive officer Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach L Balaji and a bus cleaner – have tested positive for Covid-19. It is understood that the rest of the squad, which is currently in Delhi, has tested negative. The results emerged after the latest round of testing on Sunday.

BCCI now stare at its worst nightmare, the IPL 2021 postponement, as numbers continue to rise.

IPL 2021 Postponement: Delhi-leg worst hit by Covid-19

With Delhi hitting new records in COVID-19 cases every day, it was a gamble on BCCI’s part to ahead with IPL at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. However, with the latest development, it has thrown the tournament into chaos. With five DDCA ground staff testing positive for the novel Coronavirus, it is likely that they have come in close contact with players and other support staff.

Hence, isolating all including players are the norm as per IPL COVID-19 guidelines. As per the IPL Covid guidelines, “close contact” of an affected person should “isolate for six days” and return “3 negative tests on Day 1, 3 and 6”.

According to former India cricketer Kirti Azam, IPL 2021 should be stopped with immediate effect. “IPL should now be stopped with immediate effect. It is not safe anymore for the players”