- The 14th edition of the hugely popular and much-loved Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 cricket tournament will kick-start from today amid growing concerns about the worrying surge of the dreaded Covid infection rates. This particular edition of the league will be posing unprecedented challenges to the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is stating the obvious. There were voices of concerns emanating from some quarters about the feasibility of conducting the tournament in India when major cities are in the midst of the second Covid wave. Shifting the tournament to UAE was also making news but the Board appears to have made up mind to organize in the country itself by observing all necessary precautions.
PC:
- Six venues were identified for the purpose viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru are gearing up for hosting the matches in a bio-secure environment without allowing spectators into the stadiums, at least during the initial phase. Looking at the evolving situation, it is highly unlikely spectators would be allowed during the tournament. Leading up to the first ball being bowled, Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium had to endure a scare when a few of the ground staffs’ were found to be infected with the virus. Some players and management team of few franchises too turned out to be positive and are on the way to recovery post-treatment. How the Board officials would ensure the tournament passes off uneventfully?
- The first and foremost is to ensure the venues are strictly out of bounds for the unauthorized personnel not part of the biosafety environment even if he/she happens to be a representative/official/office-bearer. Ensuring players’ safety is of paramount importance and hence, any breach by allowing unsanctioned individual(s) to come near should be strictly avoided. Knowing fully well how our official machinery functions on matters concerning discipline, the onus rests with the Board to enforce a full-proof mechanism with no scope whatsoever for anyone not part of the bio-bubble to stay put at a distance. Any breach leading to an outbreak of infection would be tantamount to disaster for the entire tournament.
PC: Aditya Saroha
- Lot is riding on the IPL as everybody’s attention will be focussed on how the BCCI mandarins will ensure success even in the face of mounting challenges of logistics, players’ safety, and to emerge unscathed after all. This is an opportunity to set a worthwhile template for the world sporting organizers to follow. Failing to enforce strict adherence to biosafety protocols has already seen postponement of a similar league in Pakistan when few of the players returned positive during random testing. As die-hard cricket enthusiasts, we wish to immerse in the sheer joy and entertainment the IPL ushers in. However, an unwanted situation arising out of non-enforcement of protocols would rob us of that fun element.
- Therefore, the authorities and the teams entrusted to implement strict measures should be unsparing in their efforts to ensure safety and health adherence irrespective of positions or standings. What is at stake is huge in terms of revenue, reputation, and most importantly, players’ wellbeing during extremely challenging times. Knowing the way Board mandarins successfully conducting the recent edition of the IPL, there is no way to cast aspersions on their abilities to sail through with this edition as well. Sit back and enjoy! Let the cricketainment begin!
