Despite at least five cricketers choosing to return home midway through the IPL and a growing chorus calling for the tournament’s postponement because of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided against suspending the league.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah didn’t respond to a query by The Hindu, but a Board official privy to developments said on condition of anonymity that “the tournament will continue as planned, at least for now”.
It is understood that the BCCI is tracking developments on a daily basis but with the authorities having granted permission, the Board will not voluntarily call the IPL off.
“We do understand these are tough times and we will try and facilitate travel of players who are leaving for various reasons and their replacements, if any, in consultation with the franchises,” the official said.
So far, R. Ashwin (Delhi Capitals), Andrew Tye, Liam Livingstone (Rajasthan Royals), Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa (Royal Challengers Bangalore) have left because of either biosecure-bubble- or COVID-related concerns.
With the IPL caravan having moved from Mumbai and Chennai to Ahmedabad and Delhi, the authorities are hoping that the list of departures doesn’t grow substantially and the teams aren’t weakened too much. RR, for instance, doesn’t have a back-up overseas player at the moment.
