While night curfew has been imposed in Delhi and strict weekend lockdown announced till the end of the month in Maharashtra due to spread of corona virus the BCCI President, Saurav Ganguly, said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start as per schedule on April 9 and venues would not be shifted. Like in the last several matches in the recently concluded India-England series spectators would not be allowed to enter the stadiums.
The IPL matches were rescheduled and shifted to United Arab Emirates last year due to COVID-19.
In neighbouring Pakistan, the cricketing authorities had to put off the Pakistan Super League.
It needs to be mentioned that Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai alone will be hosting 10 matches though several of its ground staff are suffering from corona. Reports said that several players who are to take part in IPL 2021 have also been tested positive.
The first match of the tournament would take place at M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and would be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians on April 9. The final match would be played on May 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Incidentally, Maharashtra government has imposed strict lockdown on weekends throughout the state. It would come into effect from 8 pm on every Friday to 7 am on every Monday.
Meanwhile, last month the authorities in Pakistan decided to postpone the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League after three more players were tested corona positive.
The decision was taken on March 17 after an emergency meeting between Pakistan Cricket Board and franchisees.
In India, the BCCI and eight franchisees have agreed to carry on the matches notwithstanding the fact that the pandemic is spreading much faster than last year in several states. Curiously, most of the venues are located in the eight states which account for over 80% of corona cases and subsequent deaths.
