IPL 2021 Postponed As COVID-19 Continues To Hit Hard One Camp After Another

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has been postponed, said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday after several players tested positive for COVID-19.

“The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect,” BCCI said in a release.

“The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind.”

Doubts over IPL’s continuation had grown on Monday after Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier of Kolkata Knight Riders—among teams based in Ahmedabad—tested positive. While Monday’s game between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore was postponed, Chennai Super Kings were told to isolate after three members in the contingent, including bowling coach L Balaji, tested positive.

Early on Tuesday it was decided that Wednesday’s match between CSK and RR was postponed due to the positive cases in the CSK camp. Only hours later, Saha and Amit Mishra’s reports also turned out to be positive, forcing the board to suspend the league indefinitely.

The T20 league had been on thin ice over the past week or so. After a number of overseas players — Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Liam Livingstone and Andrew Tye — decided to withdraw from the league citing Covid risk and the threat of being locked out of their own countries due to travel restrictions, a number of other players had also expressed apprehensions.