An official update from Delhi Capitals
🚨 OFFICIAL STATEMENT 🚨
— Delhi Capitals (Stay Home. Wear Double Masks😷) (@DelhiCapitals) May 4, 2021
Delhi Capitals leg spinner Amit Mishra has tested positive for COVID-19. He has been moved to a designated medical care facility, as per BCCI & IPL guidelines. pic.twitter.com/Dp5eZHuBBZ
Times of India has reported that Michael Hussey, the CSK batting coach, has tested positive for COVID-19. CSK's bowling coach L Balaji had tested positive earlier. TOI has said Hussey will be tested again, with the franchise hoping that the earlier test result was a false positive.
“One thing I want to make very clear – it has not been cancelled. It has been postponed, suspended and deferred. The remaining part of this IPL will happen. In due course, when the Covid situation improves, a decision will be taken about it,” BCCI vuce president Rajeev Shukla told Star Sports.
How much would BCCI lose due to IPL suspension? "We would be losing anything between Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 crore for the midway postponement of this season. I would say something in the range of Rs 2200 crore will be closer to accurate estimation," a senior BCCI official told PTI.
Daily Mail UK has reported that Delhi Capitals' Sam Billings and Chris Woakes are already on their way to ENgland afetr finalising their travel plans. They will quarantine themselves in a hotel in England upon arrival, as per government norm. The other England players - ranging from Eoin Morgan to Jos Buttler to Jonny Bairstow - are finalising their plans.
IPL chairman Brijesh Patel on Tuesday said the BCCI will "find a way" to send the league's foreign recruits back to their respective countries after the event was suspended indefinitely due to a COVID-19 outbreak in its bio-bubble. The suspension of the tournament was announced after SunRisers Hyderabad's wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha tested positive for COVID-19 along with Delhi Capitals' veteran spinner Amit Mishra. "We need to send them home and we will find a way to do that," Brijesh told PTI when asked how will the foreigners return home but did not elaborate beyond that.
So the 40 strong Australian contingent have found a way to fly out of India at least at the earliest. They are expected to take a detour to Maldives, something Michael Slater has already done and then from their take stock of how to reach Australia. Currently, all flights from India have been banned till May 15 and fliers from India not allowed, even for the 14-day quarantine. "Once we flew out of Australia we knew we'd signed up for 14 days quarantine coming home so you feel a bit further from getting home, but when the hard border shut no one has ever experienced that before," Cummins told The Back Page on Fox Sports.
Meanwhile, a PIL was filed in Bombay High Court seeking damages from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to use towards procuring medical requirements for the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiff asked whether the IPL is an essential service and also sought a direction to the BCCI to pay Rs 1,000 crore as “damages” and make donations from their profit to hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.
Th BCCI have been forced to postpone the IPL 2021 season indefinitely after a number of Covid positive cases inside the bio-secure bubble, now what impact could it have on the T20 World Cup that India is scheduled to host later in the year? Here's our report.
IPL 2021 Suspended: Will The ICC T20 World Cup Be Taken Out of India?https://t.co/d2kxwM0TF9
— CricketNext (@cricketnext) May 4, 2021
Romours and unconfirmed reports of a September restart of the league, but it looks tough as India's Test series against England ends only on September 14
BCCI still looking at option to resume or reschedule the current IPL season
The suspension followed by the bio bubble breach also raises concerns over India's preparedness to host the T20 World Cup in Oct-Nov. While India took confidence from the England series which they hosted early this year comprising T20Is, ODIs and Tests at different venues, hosting a multi-team event has proved to be very difficult with the pandemic raging all across the country. Even though the T20 World Cup is still far away, the current pandemic situation in India is not something that could be contained by at least September, by which time teams will have to land in India. Owing to the current scenarios boards and players will not be too keen to travel to India either.
What Next After IPL Suspension?
The immediate priority for BCCI is to arrange safe passage for their overseas players. With Australia banning all flights from India, the fate of the Australian contingent hangs in a balance. As for the Kiwis, they can still fly out to their county so can the English cricketers, but they will have to quarantine in govt. specified hotels for 10 days and undergo tests on the 2nd and the 8th day. Another issue here will be most transit flights are from UAE and that stands suspended. Bangladesh cricketers can hop across the border by road if need be with air route suspended.
While the BCCI has assured that it will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021, it is easier said than done. With Australia already banning flights from India till May 15, the Australian contingent including 14 cricketers, support staff including Ricky Ponting, Hussey brothers, commentators Matthew Hayden, Lisa Sthalekar among others now waiting anxiously for their departures from India
"The tournament has been suspended indefinitely. We will try to conduct the event in the next available window but this month is unlikely," league chairman Brijesh Patel told PTI.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla to CNN-News18
#EXCLUSIVE | Speaking to CNN-News18's @TejinderSsodhi, BCCI Vice-President @ShuklaRajiv Confirms League's Suspension till further notice. #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/g1ve6Zp1W0
— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 4, 2021
BCCI official statement on IPL Suspension
The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect. 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.
Rajeev Shukla to CNN-News18: All the office bearers and council members have together decided after talking to all stakeholders including the franchises and broadcasters that for now it should be suspended. After a while we will take a call when it will be resumed. Yes, few players in Kolkata and Chennai (have tested positive). Not many players affected. All precautions have been taken but still keeping in mind the health of players and support staff we have taken the decision.We will keep an eye on the situation.there's a possibility for the season to resume if situation improves
Indian Premier League suspended indefinitely after multiple COVID-19 cases in its bio-bubble: League chairman Brijesh Patel to PTI
IPL Suspended: However, there as contrasting reports coming in, Despite ANI reporting that IPL 2021 is suspended for the season as confirmed by Rajeev Shukla, sports journalists social media are reporting that the suspension is for the time being only and could resume after a week's break
IPL Covid-19 Crisis Live Updates: While the players were assured time and again by their respective franchises and the BCCI that they are safe in their respective bio-bubbles, rumors of discomfort had already began doing the rounds. Three Australians and one English player pulled out midway through the season giving rise of fears that more will follow the suit. However, the season continued. The travelling ban for the flights from India make the matters a bit tricky. However, in an official statement, the IPL has promised to do everything to ensure the safe passage of everyone involved. So it’s expected that he officials will look for flights with alternative routes to home or there’s a possibility of arranging chartered planes as well.
With four cricketers testing positive for coronavirus, the entire season of the ongoing IPL 2021 has been suspended indefinitely. BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla confirmed the news on Tuesday moments after Amit Mishra of Delhi Capitals and Wriddhiman Saha of Sunrisers Hyderabad were added to the list of covid-19 positive IPL stars.
However, an official announcement from BCCI is still to come with multiple media reports claiming that the season has been suspended for a week and will shift to Mumbai after clearances have been taken.
On Monday, the crack in the IPL bio-secure bubble began appearing when two Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier were confirmed to have been tested positive for the deadly virus. Later, it emerged that two non-playing members of Chennai Super Kings camp – bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji and a member of travelling staff – were also infected.
With KKR players going into isolation, their fixture against RCB on Monday was cancelled and by Tuesday afternoon, the season was suspended.
BCCI is also planning to limit the remainder of the season to just one venue with Mumbai being floated as the primary option. However, it is expected that tonight’s match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and defending champions Mumbai Indians will go ahead as planned unless there’s a late development.
The BCCI is already facing the heat for going ahead with the event despite India battling the coronavirus pandemic as the second wave continues to wreak havoc. For over 10 days now, the country has been reporting more than three lakh daily fresh cases with experts warning the peak is yet to come.
The Covid-19 crisis in the IPL has deepened after two KKR players test positive, two from CSK camp also tested positive along with a few DDCA ground staff. DC have also been asked to quarantine because they played their last game against KKR – the match featured Varun Chakravarthy, who is one of the two players to have tested positive.
News coming in that, The remainder of the Indian Premier League 2021 could be entirely moved to Mumbai from this weekend, with COVID-19 positive cases emerging within IPL bubbles, according to a report in ESPNcricinfo. Mumbai has three venues – Wankhede stadium, DY Patil stadium and Brabourne stadium. The move is being contemplated after two players in Kolkata Knight Riders – Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier – tested positive for the virus in Ahmedabad. Chennai Super Kings bowling coach L Balaji too tested positive in Delhi along with the team’s bus cleaner.
A plea was moved in the Delhi High Court on Monday, urging it to direct the Centre, the city government and cricketing bodies BCCI and DDCA to immediately stop the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches scheduled to be held in the national capital.
The petition, filed by a lawyer, was listed for hearing before Justice Prathiba M Singh, who said it appeared to be in the nature of a PIL in view of the reliefs sought and directed that it be listed before the appropriate bench.The plea was moved by Karan S Thukral, a lawyer, who has contended that conducting IPL matches in Delhi at a time when the city is grappling with a shortage of beds, oxygen, essential medicines and people are cremating their loved ones is ‘unreasonable and unjustified’.
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