The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 amid cases of COVID-19.
IPL suspended for this season: Vice-President BCCI Rajeev Shukla to ANI#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/K6VBK0W0WA
— ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2021
This is a huge blow to cricket fans all around the globe as IPL is watched by a large number of global audience.
Why IPL is cancelled ?
The biggest cricket tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) has been suspended for the time being after two SRH players tested positive ahead of their scheduled match against Mumbai Indians in Delhi today.
The rising numbers of Covid positives within the IPL bio bubble have led to the cancellation of the season mid-way.
It was already assumed by experts that BCCI will either postponed or suspend the IPL after concerns rise in Monday’s IPL 2021 match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The match was rescheduled after the Knight Riders’ spinner Varun Chakravarthy and seam bowler Sandeep Warrier tested positive for Covid-19. The entire KKR team has gone for a six-day hard quarantine after Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier returned positive for COVID-19.
Finally today, the decision was taken. According to IPL Governing Council members, the decision was taken after Amit Mishra and Wriddhiman Saha too tested positive on Tuesday. Multiple BCCI officials and the franchises too confirmed the development.
CSK’s bowling coach, L Balaji was also tested Covid-19 positive on Monday. Balaji was present in the dugout with the players of Chennai Super Kings in their previous game. This fact raises concerns over the player’s fitness as well.
The BCCI has been facing widespread criticism for going ahead with such a large event despite India fighting the coronavirus pandemic as the second wave continues to wreak havoc. For over 10 days now, India has been reporting more than three lakh daily fresh cases. The experts have warned that the situation will worse off and the peak is yet to come.
A plea was also 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.
