The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) put a halt to the Indian Premier League (IPL) as players from several teams tested positive for Covid-19. The likes of Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier from Kolkata Knight Riders, Amit Mishra from Delhi Capitals (DC), and Wridhimann Saha from SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) returned positive results for the virus.
And now, former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain has opined that there was no option but to call off the IPL. Adding that the players were not stupid, Hussain stated that all the cricketers would have been aware of the Covid-19 situation in India.
Hussain said that the players would have seen several people on their TVs pleading for oxygen, and they would have also seen unused ambulances waiting outside the cricket grounds and would have felt very uncomfortable.
“There was no option other than to call off the Indian Premier League. Not after the bio-secure bubbles had been breached in so many places. Enough was enough. This has become far bigger than a game of cricket. The players are not stupid nor insensitive. They would have been fully aware of what has been going on in India.
They would have seen on their TVs people pleading for hospital beds and oxygen. They would have seen unused ambulances waiting outside cricket grounds and wondered whether it was right for them to carry on playing. And they would have been uncomfortable,” wrote Hussain in his column for the Daily Mail.
“The mistake was made in having the IPL in India,” says Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain further opined that the players should not be blamed, and added that holding the 14th IPL edition in India was a mistake. He also added that the previous edition of the IPL was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and it took place brilliantly. Hussain concluded by stating that India was going through its worst phase dealing with Covid-19 and still went ahead with hosting the IPL.
“It has been unedifying at times watching this tournament when people are dying just up the road from there. I won’t criticize the players, but it had to be called off. The mistake was made in having the tournament in India in the first place. Six months ago, they held an IPL in the United Arab Emirates and it went brilliantly.
Covid rates were low and no bubbles were compromised. They could have returned there. Yes, it is easy to say that with hindsight. And India clearly did feel they were through the worst of the virus when they decided to stage this year’s competition,” concluded Nasser Hussain.
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