Opinion

IPL 2021: Difficult to say how Covid entered bubble, says BCCI president Sourav Ganguly

Written by Abhishek Patil

Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly opened up on the suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, saying it is difficult to say how the novel coronavirus breached the secure IPL bio bubble. Ganguly also revealed that they initially got a report which stated that there was no bubble breach.

The BCCI president also said that the board took the decision to hold IPL 2021 in India across multiple cities, as there were only a few cases in the country at the time.

Earlier on Tuesday, the BCCI decided to suspend the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for an indefinite period after four players tested positive for Covid-19. The announcement came after Delhi Capitals’ Amit Mishra and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Wriddhiman Saha tested COVID-19 positive. Only 29 matches were played in the 60-match tournament which was scheduled to be played until May 30 in Ahmedabad.

“I don’t think so. The report we got is that there’s no breach of the bubble. How it happened is very difficult to say. How so many people are getting (infected) in the country is also very difficult to say,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shulka on Tuesday though clarified that the IPL was not canceled but postponed. However, it remains to be seen if the cricket board can find a window for the T20 league, provided the Covid-19 crisis and the packed cricket calendar.

“We will see. It’s too early to say,” Ganguly said when he was asked about a separate window for staging the remainder of IPL 2021.

About the author

Abhishek Patil