Covid-19 causes scheduling headache for Dubai cricket

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Shiva Pagarani, the convenor of finance, administration and media at the DCC. -Supplied photo
Shiva Pagarani, the convenor of finance, administration and media at the DCC. -Supplied photo

Dubai - MULLING OPTIONS: As many as seven domestic tournaments are in limbo as cricket administrators try and work a way around this

By James Jose

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Published: Tue 7 Apr 2020, 6:48 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2020, 8:56 PM

The coronavirus pandemic has not just brought everything to a standstill but has also caused a scheduling headache for cricket in the UAE.
A number of tournaments being organised by the Dubai Cricket Council (DCC) has stalled and has ground to a halt.
The fluidity of the situation means that the picture remains uncertain on when the season will resume with one option being spilling it onto the new season in September.
As many as seven domestic tournaments are in limbo as cricket administrators try and work a way around this.
"There are many tournaments that were ongoing and some were about to begin. With all this we will have to start and compress everything when hopefully everything returns to normal," Shiva Pagarani, the convenor of finance, administration and media at the DCC, told the Khaleej Times.
The tournaments that are currently affected are the Weekend Slammers, where the round matches are over but the final is yet to be played. The final was scheduled for March 18.
The others include the DCC Under-16 Youth League final, the DCC Under-14 Phantom League U-14 (where the last round and final is to be played), the Saturday Silly Sloggers (where the last three rounds and final is to be played), the DCC Smashers League (where the last five rounds are left and then the final), the 12th edition of League Of Mammoths (where only the first round has been played and there are still around 18 matches to go), the JK White Cement Ramadan Cricket Tournament (which was to start on April 4) and the Guts and Glory League (seven matches including final).
"We had the roster lined up. If it happens and if we can make a comeback, we can at least play the finals of some of the tournaments. And the tournaments which have a couple of rounds left, we can finish them. But ones which are half way, that we will take it to the next season," said Pagarani.
"We will try to have a delayed season. We will try to finish it in the first week of June, but that is dependent on if we get permission to start," he added.
The regular cricket season in Dubai starts on September 15 and comes to an end in April-May.
Meanwhile, Pagarani also spoke about the effect the current situation has had on the various cricket academies that run in the emirate.
And he too suggested that cricketers, both young and old, could do simple exercises at home so that they are not rusty when they get back into action.
"Hanging balls, you can get your drives corrected, shadow practice, rebound catches, foot movement, footwork, skipping at home, street ladder. Maybe your father or sister can give you short catch practice, get your eye contact correct, play with the table tennis ball, get your eye rolling up and down helps you. These exercises will keep you fit so that when it is time to come back, you can come back straight away into the game," felt Pagarani, who is a cricketer himself.
james@khaleejtimes.com


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