No cricket in India until further notice, BCCI says
No further cricket matches will take place in the country until the Coronavirus crisis is over.
India.- The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that no further cricket matches will take place in the country until the Coronavirus crisis is over.
Until now, some games have been played behind close doors, including the fifth day of the Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal. But from today, no further games will be held.
Despite the fifth day of the Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal has been played in India behind closed doors, that is not going to happen again in the country.
“The social reality of Germany and India are different, there will be no cricket in India in the near future,” BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly, told local press.
“There are too many ifs and buts involved. More importantly, I don’t believe in sport when there is a risk to human life.”
Harbhajan Singh, the former India offspinner who is part of the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL, agrees with the decision.
“When IPL teams travel, there’s a huge crowd at the airports, hotels, outside the stadium. How are you going to stop them if you are looking to maintain social distancing? There should be no top-flight cricket till there is a vaccine for Covid-19.”
Discussions are taking place regarding the future of the Twenty20 World Cup, which is scheduled for next October in Australia. India would be the host in 2021.
Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, recently suggested the T20 WCs in 2020 and 2021 could be moved to India if the country could get on top of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As we all know, Australia has barred foreigners from entering the country till September 30. The tournament starts in mid-October so it is looking difficult at the moment,” Gavaskar told the India Today newspaper.
“Next year the T20 WC is scheduled in India. If India and Australia come to an agreement and the Covid-19 curve in India flattens out, they can swap. It can be held in India this October-November and next year in Australia,” he added.
