The second wave of COVID-19 has created quite a cause for concern ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. After 8 groundstaff at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and a member of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) content team tested positive for the virus, players – Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Axar Patel and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Devdutt Padikkal tested positive as well.
This has caused quite a bit of concern among the organizers of the IPL – the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). They have maintained that the tournament would go ahead as per the initial plan. They have however, chosen Indore and Hyderabad as the backup venues if the situation in Maharashtra worsens.
Rajeev Shukla speaks on the pandemic
The vice-president of the BCCI, Rajeev Shukla spoke about the pandemic to ANI and said, “In order to cope with this coronavirus rise, I think the only solution is to get vaccinated. BCCI is also thinking on those lines that players should be vaccinated. Nobody knows when coronavirus is going to end and you can’t give a deadline that by this time frame, it will not be there so players can play easily. So, I think now will have to think over that. Vaccination should be done for the players also.”
Similarly, a source from BCCI spoke to ANI about the concerns and said, “See, not just the teams, but also the buses and drivers and everything is inside the bio-secure bubble. So, travelling to the stadium on match-days will not be a problem. Regular tests are being done on those working around the teams as well just like it was last year in the UAE. The curfew won’t hurt travel to and from the stadium.”
The IPL is scheduled to begin on the 9th of April.
