Hyderabad: The inevitable was waiting to happen. This is definitely a huge loss of face for the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) as it was a disaster from the start.
The IPL 2021 was played in the midst of an unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. There was increasing scramble to suspend the tournament. The BCCI had to push for and suspend the IPL 2021 due to the violation of the bio-bubble that resulted in two players from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier – being tested positive and a few players in the running line.
IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said all matches would be suspended as the number of cases within the tournament’s bio-security bubble grows.
The immediate concern for the BCCI is the safe return of foreign players to their respective countries. “The BCCI will do everything in its power to ensure that all participants in IPL 2021 go through it safely and securely,” the BCCI said in its statement.
Australian cricketer Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson (both Royal Challengers Bangalore) Andrew Tye (Rajasthan Royals) left the IPL last week and returned via Qatar.
But every Australian who tries the trip now faces imprisonment and fines amid the travel ban, although Prime Minister Scott Morrison said such sanctions were ‘extremely remote’.
Cricket Australia said they were in direct contact with the BCCI while working through plans to ensure safe accommodation and repatriation of Australian players, coaches, match officials and commentators back home in Australia.
“Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers ‘Association understand the decision of the BCCI to postpone the Indian Premier League of 2021 for the safety and well-being of all participants indefinitely,” reads a joint statement from Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.
He added: “CA and the ACA respect the decision of the Australian Government to suspend travel from India until at least 15 May and will not seek exemptions.”
For BCCI, it was an untouched adventure that ended in great embarrassment. There were many theories to hold the tournament in India, which was also a recipe for disaster in six places. But the BCCI had their own reasons for holding the tournament in India instead of the UAE, as they had successfully hosted the home series against England in all three formats.
The English Premier League or La Liga in Spain or NBA in the USA was hosted. There were cases where some players tested positive, but they were able to do so in front of the empty stadiums. BCCI therefore thought it could fetch it in India. But it failed miserably for various reasons.
Even at the start of the tournament on April 9, the pandemic was not as strong as the past two weeks. The first matches in Mumbai and Chennai were successfully completed, although there were initial fright movements as three players and campaign tested positive.
However, once the second shift started in Delhi and Ahmedabad where the Covid-19 cases have increased. The bio-bubble burst and the tournament began to disrupt. To be honest, it jumped into the bud and BCCI made a sensible decision to discontinue the tournament.
The BCCI can now regret if only the IPL 2021 was held in the United Arab Emirates, like last year the IPL-2020 in three venues. The damage was done. In hindsight, the IPL disaster would now force the BCCI to keep the T20 world in the United Arab Emirates instead of India.
In fact, International Cricket Council (ICC) officials would visit the sites in India, including Hyderabad, but they canceled it given the grave Covid-19 situation. Now India’s tour of England can also be questioned.
Source: Telangana Today