Chairman of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Saurav Ganguly, insists that it was not a mistake to hold the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India despite the dire situation in the country.
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IPL was suspended halfway through the tournament after several players and staff members from various franchises tested positive for COVID-19.
Ganguly finally broke his silence over the matter and said, “When we decided all this, there was no (COVID-19 spike) in India. So it is very easy to say now, but when this tournament was organized, COVID-19 numbers (in India) were nothing. We started with Mumbai and finished there without any case, and Mumbai was very high (number of active COVID-19 cases) then.”
Ganguly said that the BCCI was contemplating holding the entire tournament in UAE, just like they did it last season. However, since there was no immediate wave of COVID-19 in India, they scrapped their plans and decided to hold it in India.
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Ganguly added that players contracting COVID-19 is not a new thing, as there have been numerous COVID-19 cases in various leagues.
He said, “Manchester City, Arsenal players got infected. Matches got rescheduled, because their season is six months long, they can do it. But our season is tight. Since we have to (release) players to their respective countries, rescheduling was difficult.”
BCCI has still not revealed their plans of rescheduling the remainder of the tournament, and it is still unsure if the remainder of the tournament will be held anytime soon.
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