Maharashtra government on Monday gave the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) green signal for IPL teams to continue practice at the Wankhede Stadium even after 8 pm. The teams will be allowed to travel back to their hotels amid the night curfew that has been imposed in the Covid-19 ravaged city of Mumbai. Mumbai is set to host IPL 2021 games between April 10 and 25.
Since the last week, the number of cases has surged significantly in India, with Mumbai being impacted the worst. Following the widespread infection in the state, the Maharashtra Government on Sunday imposed Section 144 and night curfew from 8 pm – 7 am on weekdays, which has been given the title of “break the chain”.
However, despite the imposition of such rules and regulations to contain the pandemic spread, the state government has allowed the Indian Premier League franchises in Mumbai to continue practice post 8 pm under certain conditions like “strict adherence to bio-bubble”. Although this might be good news for the teams, the players and staff will still remain under heavy tension, provided the news of IPL members getting contacted with the virus every now and then.
In a letter issued by the BCCI, Srirang Gholap, Under Secretary of the Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation department wrote, “Considering the match-timings, teams practicing at the CCI and MCA are scheduled to practice in 2 sessions from 4pm to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 10 pm.”
This development comes after a number of groundsmen in Wankhede Stadium turned out to be covid infected. Now with the infections spreading at a faster than ever rate, the governing body should be taking into consideration very rigorous measurements and precautions while conducting the event, as new cases surrounding the IPL members are on the rise of late.
Mumbai alone recorded more than 11,000 cases of coronavirus on Sunday, which is scheduled to host its first IPL 2021 game at Wankhede in just 4 days from now.