IPL 2021: League will go on as per schedule, says Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President, on Sunday confirmed that everything will go on as per schedule in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

His confirmation comes just hours after the Maharashtra government announced a weekend lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“Everything will go on as per schedule,” Ganguly told ANI.

Maharashtra will enter strict weekend lockdown from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 am, said state Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik adding that essential services and transportation including buses, trains, and taxis will be allowed. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting today in view of surging Covid-19 cases, he told reporters here.

Wankhede Stadium is set to host 10 IPL games this season from April 10-25. The first match at the Mumbai stadium is slated to be played on April 10 between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.

Four franchises -- Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals have set up their base in Mumbai as of now. The fifth franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is also based in Mumbai currently, but they will soon move to Chennai to play their first match against SunRisers Hyderabad on April 11.

The BCCI is also thinking of players’ vaccination ahead of the IPL with BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla saying that the board will get in touch with the Health Ministry for players’ vaccination.

“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. Vaccination should be done for the players also,” Shukla told ANI.

When asked if BCCI has written to the Health Ministry regarding players’ vaccination, Shukla said the BCCI is mulling over the idea and they will definitely get in touch with the ministry that players should be vaccinated.