Picture Credit: IPL
In a massive development, the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended indefinitely owing to several COVID-19 cases emerging from inside the team bubble. While the Kolkata Knight Riders had confirmed on Saturday that two of their players- Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier- tested positive for COVID-19, later in the day reports of Chennai Super Kings bowling coach L Balaji returning positive result for Coronavirus was also confirmed.
However, on Sunday a COVID-19 case was found even in Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals with Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra being diagnosed of the infection. With COVID-19 cases found in four of the eight franchises involved in the tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to take the drastic step of suspending the country's premier T20 competition.
Little window to have it organised later
Meanwhile, even though the BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla has said that the board will consider rescheduling the remainder of the tournament, there is very little window in the cricketing calendar which can be used for the same. This suggests that even though IPL 2021 is currently only suspended and not cancelled, the chances of it resuming look bleak in a year which has a packed international cricket schedule.
BCCI had ignored governing council's proposal to have IPL 2021 in Dubai
It is also being known that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had denied the IPL Governing Council's suggestion to have the tournament this year in the United Arab Emirates. While the Governing Council was worried about the deteriorating condition in India due to COVID-19 surge, the Board was confident after successfully hosting England in a bilateral series. But the record spike in the number of daily infections did not even spare an otherwise safe bio-bubble.