BCCI says T20 tournament not possible with travel restrictions on, reopening of stadiums not enough

Although the  Home Ministry’s nod to reopen the sports fields, the BCCI is not considering organizing the Indian Premier League at this time. According to BCCI Arun Dhumal, no plan in place for this year's IPL contract, provided there are restrictions on international and domestic travel.

"IPL is not possible at this time because there are still travel restrictions. How can you have an IPL without any trip happening? We are studying these guidelines and we will also study state government guidelines. Accordingly, we will plan."

On Sunday, the Ministry of  Home Affairs MHA) issued guidelines indicating that sports stadiums can open without an audience. Sports complexes and stadiums are allowed to open; but the MHA notice said, "Viewers will not be allowed."

Dhumal agreed that this paved the way for cricketers to resume outdoor training individually. Domestically, crickets can go to stadiums and resume training outdoors. Dhumal  said, "The whole team cannot be united because the players are scattered."

Any useful discussion about IPL is known to only begin in August. But finding a window is still a problem. According to an official at the International Chamber of Commerce, although a section of IPL cricket managers and stakeholders seem to have considered that the postponement of the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled for October and November, may not be an open and closed case.

The World Cup T20 is an event for the International Criminal Court. "It will bring revenue to the world organization and the International Criminal Court will do its best to organize the tournament on time," he said.

After locked them in for nearly 54 days, the new Home Office guidelines are a glimmer of hope for elite athletes at the country's major sports institutes, where they can now resume training. However, those outside the SAI campus may have to wait until at least June, as they may have to go through a quarantine period before being able to train at the centers.

Athletes urged the government to allow them to train, and those on campus complained of nostalgia. An Indian Sports Authority (SAI) official has not waived when athletes will be able to resume training, but it is already known that those on their campus are: hockey teams in Bangalore, while some in athletics and weightlifting in Patiala, will receive Green signal this week.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju held online meetings with athletes from these three sports last week and said that there would be a gradual resumption of training, with priority given to those already in the SAI centers. These athletes will have to follow the strict protocols and guidelines for the social distance set by the supreme monitor and their unions.

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Article source: https://indianexpress.com/