BCCI Suspends All Age Group Competitions Due To COVID-19 And Exams

Mar 17, 2021 at 1:54 PM

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BCCI Suspends All Age Group Competitions Due To COVID-19 And Exams

BCCI has decided to suspend all age-group competitions like the upcoming Vinoo Mankad Trophy and will assess the situation further post the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with an eye on the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country.

In a letter to the state associations, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah informed them of the situation and the decision to suspend age-group competitions at present as that would require inter-city travel and the creation of bio bubbles.

Secretary BCCI, Jay Shah. Courtesy: Indiatimes
Secretary BCCI, Jay Shah. Courtesy: Indiatimes

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah: Season Started Late For Lockdowns Due To Covid-19 And It Began By Hosting Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Before IPL 2021 Auction

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) started the domestic season with Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on January 10. The Mushtaq Ali Trophy was preferred because of the upcoming IPL 2021 which is also a T20 format like the former. The second tournament held was the Vijay Hazare Trophy. After staging Ranji Trophy for 87 consecutive years since its inception in 1934-35, India’s premier first-class cricket national championship wasn’t held for the first time in the 2020-21 domestic season.

“The domestic season 2020-21 started unusually late owing to the countrywide lockdown on account of the global pandemic. The pandemic meant that we had to wait until January 2021 to start our domestic season and as discussed in the 89th AGM, we began our season by hosting the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ahead of the IPL Auction,” said BCCI secretary.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021: Tamil Nadu beat Baroda to clinch title
Tamil Nadu team with Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in Ahmedabad. (Photo: BCCI)

The domestic T20 tournament was followed by the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which was successfully conducted at different centres in India with New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium hosting the final between UPCA and MCA on Sunday, 14th March.

“The Women’s Senior One Day Trophy is also currently underway at different centres with the final scheduled to take place on 4th April. While our endeavour was to get in as many matches as was practicable across different age groups in the season, prevailing circumstances have now forced us to suspend all age-group tournaments.

“This is on account of the fact that active COVID cases are on the rise and organising tournaments requires intercity travel, strict quarantine measures and the creation and maintenance of bio-secure bubbles for the participants,” he explained.

After losing the title last year by a solitary run to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu got the job done in 2021 in commanding fashion as it defeated Baroda by seven wickets to clinch its second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, at the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The victory was set up by left-arm spinner M. Siddharth, playing his first match this tournament, as he wrecked Baroda’s top-order with a four-wicket haul (4/20).

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah: With Board Exams Around The Corner, Situation Is Not Conducive In Some States

The BCCI secretary then added that with the board exams around the corner, it would be appropriate to plan the age-group games post the IPL slated to be held between April 9 and May 30.

“Moreover, the situation is presently not conducive in some states. Considering the fact that the 10th and 12th board examinations are also around the corner across India, it is prudent that our young athletes have the opportunity to prepare and focus on these crucial examinations. Furthermore, our players’ health, safety and well-being are our primary concern. I assure you that we will continue exploring a window for organising the age-group tournaments post the IPL 2021,” he added.

Prithvi Shaw Becomes First Player to Score 800 Runs in Vijay Hazare Trophy
Prithvi Shaw becomes the first cricketer to score 800 runs in a single edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy©Twitter

Mumbai skipper and opening batsman Prithvi Shaw strongly answered his critics as he became the first player to register more than 800 runs in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy – the domestic one-day tournament. He was dropped from India’s Test squad after his twin failures in Australia but achieved the feat in the final between Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

The India ODI team selection is around the corner and the selectors may partially heed the performances in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, which was won by Mumbai. Prithvi Shaw led Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare Trophy title scoring 827 runs from 8 matches with four hundred and a fifty. He averaged a stunning 165.40 and managed the highest runs in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Devdutt Padikkal of Karnataka scored 737 runs from 7 matches with four hundred and three fifties at 147.40.  Prasidh Krishna took 14 wickets from 7 matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Krunal Pandya made 388 runs from five matches at 129.33 with two hundred and as many fifties.  The quartet may feature in India’s team in the 3 ODIs against England as the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul isn’t in form and T Natarajan is injured and Jasprit Bumrah is on leave.

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