Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has on Friday (March 13) lauded the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) “absolutely fair call” to postpone the major cricketing events in the country for the moment due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.
With the deadly virus spreading rapidly in India, the BCCI called off the ongoing South Africa ODI series and also suspended the start of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 from March 29 to 15 April for the people’s safety, as the country has already recorded more than 80 coronavirus cases so far.
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The legendary batsman also congratulated the BCCI for taking the “very very necessary” and “most sensible decision” because of the heath of the public and the nation that is very important at the moment.
Gavaskar told India Today on Friday: “An absolutely fair call and congratulations to the BCCI for taking the step because the heath of the public and the health of the nation is so important. Because the coronavirus has been spreading and it was very very necessary to take the call.”
He continued, “There are thousands of people who turn up for a match, there are so many people in the lobbies of the hotel and airports. So many people traveling on an aircraft. So yes, anybody could be infected and he could pass it on, so I think this is the most sensible decision taken by the BCCI.”
On being asked if it was a possibility to play the remaining ODI series in the absence of spectators, Gavaskar said it makes no sense as no player wants to play in front of empty stands.
The former captain further explained, “I suppose you could have done that but no player, no artist like to play in front of empty stands. So clearly it is important for the player to be charged up to have a crowd. If that is not there I do not think it makes any sense to have a tournament. That should be absolutely the last option that should be there. And I think at this time when we are reading how this virus is spreading, this is the most correct step that the BCCI has taken.”
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh also lauded BCCI's decision saying: “A lot of things would depend on the situation. If situations remain the same or get worsen than it would be difficult to conduct IPL as it involves the lives of so many people. Spectators coming to the ground does not matter because they are in the hotels also and on the flight. So, all these would be kept in mind before taking any decision.”
He signed off by saying, “A lot of things depend on how coronavirus will settle down in the coming days. The Indian government and BCCI has taken the right decision as health is the utmost priority. The game could be held after a month but it is imperative to save the lives.”
(With India Today Inputs)
