Abhinav Bindra, Olympic Gold Medallist has questioned the staging of IPL amid the record COVID-19 cases in the country. IPL 2021 is being played across 6 venues in India and is in its early stage.
The COVID-19 situation has worsened in India and the country is recording over 3 lakh cases on a daily basis now. The situation had come under control in the past few months. But the numbers went up once again in March-April. The single-day tally of COVID-19 cases touched the 1 lakh mark and quickly breached the 2 lakh mark as well.
Abhinav Bindra: Cricketers And Officials Can’t Just Live In Their Own Bubble
Now, the country is recording over 3 lakh cases regularly and the death toll has also been much higher. The ongoing situation has seen few state governments imposing lockdowns in their respective states. Delhi, the country’s capital, is also under lockdown till May 3.
The restrictions have seen many businesses being closed for the time being as the non-essential services remain closed during lockdowns. Amidst this crisis, the BCCI has been staging IPL.
The apex board has already staged 19 matches successfully and a large part of the tournament is still left to be played. Since the country is going through the worst phase of the pandemic, many are also criticizing the board for staging the tournament.
Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra is also among those critics questioning IPL. In his column for The Indian Express, Abhinav Bindra wrote that the cricketers and officials can’t be deaf or blind to whatever is going outside, thus questioning staging IPL amid the pandemic.
“Cricketers and officials can’t just live in their own bubble, and be totally deaf or blind to whatever is going outside. I can only imagine that while you’re having these IPL games, outside the stadium you have ambulances going to hospitals.
“I don’t know how the coverage on TV is but I would really appreciate if it’s a little bit muted in nature. I think celebration and everything around it should be at a minimum because you have to show a little bit of respect to society,” Abhinav Bindra wrote for The Indian Express.
“If we show some kindness, it’ll help us heal as individuals and as a nation. That process is not going to be easy. We know the pandemic isn’t ending tomorrow, but we don’t know what the endgame is. So many people are going to lose their lives, so many families are going to be affected… it’s going to be so tough,” Abhinav Bindra said.
The IPL will soon move to Delhi, a state where the lockdown was extended on Sunday. As of now, there is no clear word as the tournament looks set to be played in the capital state without any red signal from the government. The IPL 2021’s league stage finishes on May 23. The playoff matches will be played in Ahmedabad’s newly built stadium from May 25 to 30.
BCCI Said IPL 2021 Will Go On As Per Schedule Despite Players Pulling Out
Anxiety pierced through Indian Premier League’s (IPL) bio-secure bubble on Monday with leading Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and some Australian players withdrawing from the league amid the escalating Covid-19 crisis in India even as the BCCI insisted that the glitzy league will go on.
Andrew Tye (Rajasthan Royals) and the duo of Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa (both Royal Challengers Bangalore) withdrew as apprehension set in after a couple of weeks went by smoothly for the league being held in front of empty stands across nine venues.
Earlier, CSK’s Josh Hazlewood and Rajasthan’s Liam Livingstone withdrew from IPL 2021, citing bubble fatigue. The likes of Ben Stokes, T Natarajan, Shreyas Iyer, and Jofra Archer are missing the IPL 2021 due to injuries during or just before the commencement of IPL 2021.