Nasser Hussain also said players neither stupid nor insensitive on India's COVID-19 crisis.
Former England captain and commentator Nasser Hussain on Wednesday (May 5) said the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) had no other option but to postpone the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) due to the COVID-19 situation in India.
After the postponement of the IPL 14, Hussain said that the players would have been uncomfortable after seeing the COVID-19 crisis in India, saying the players neither stupid nor insensitive.
Given the massive surge in COVID-19 cases in India, the IPL 2021 suspension was on the card, especially after infections kept increasing inside the IPL bio-bubble for the last two days.
As many as four IPL franchisees have so far come under the grip of deadly Coronavirus that led the BCCI to suspend the IPL 14 indefinitely on Tuesday (May 4) following the mounting criticism for conducting the tournament in this challenging situation across the world.
Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail: “There was no option other than to call off the Indian Premier League. Not after the bio-secure bubbles had been breached in so many places. Enough was enough. This has become far bigger than a game of cricket.”
He further added, “The players are neither stupid nor insensitive. They would have been fully aware of what has been going on in India. They would have seen on their TVs people pleading for hospital beds and oxygen. They would have seen unused ambulances waiting outside cricket grounds and wondered whether it was right for them to carry on playing. And they would have been uncomfortable.
It has been unedifying at times watching this tournament when people are dying just up the road from there. I won't criticize the players, but it had to be called off.”
The former England captain believes that the BCCI made a “mistake” of hosting the IPL 2021 in India despite the Coronavirus outbreak, saying they should have conducted the event in the UAE like last season.
He further explained, “The mistake was made in having the tournament in India in the first place. Six months ago they held an IPL in the United Arab Emirates and it went brilliantly. Covid rates were low and no bubbles were compromised. They could have returned there.”
Hussain signed off by saying, “Yes, it is easy to say that with hindsight. And India clearly did feel they were through the worst of the virus when they decided to stage this year’s competition.”