England and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Moran has lent his support and heartfelt gratitude to everybody after seeing the second COVID-19 wave rampant across India while urging all to follow the guidelines to stay safe, saying it is horrific what is happening outside the IPL 2021 bio-bubble.
The ongoing 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) has found itself in the grip of the second wave of COVID-19 in India with few players quitting the T20 league, but Morgan believes that the ongoing IPL 14 should continue as long as “it doesn't disturb what's happening in the public eye”.
Explaining his point why the ongoing IPL 14 could still go on amid the spike in COVID-19 cases in India, the KKR skipper has pointed out that the Bundesliga and Premier League have set the perfect “templates” for the sports to continue amid lockdown due to Coronavirus pandemic.
England’s World Cup-winning captain also said the players are constantly talking about the Coronavirus outbreak within the KKR camp and admitted they are lucky enough to not get “affected by COVID-19 very much” as they are in a bio-secure bubble for the IPL 2021.
His comments came after KKR’s 5-wicket win over Punjab Kings in an IPL 14 contest on Monday (April 26) after four losses on the trot in the tournament.
Morgan said during a virtual press conference, “Yes, we're constantly talking about this situation that's unfolding outside of our bubble. It's not nice watching from afar, considering how lucky we are to be in a bubble and not be affected by it very much. We obviously lend our support and heartfelt gratitude to everybody who is ill or going through tough times.”
The skipper further added, “Certainly, in the UK last year, we went through severe lockdown for prolonged periods of time and it looked for a long time that cricket wasn't going to be played for our summer. But coming together and working together, certainly, with the guidance of the government, the England cricket board and everybody at home helped change that.”
Citing the examples of Premier League and Bundesliga that were played amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan said: “Yeah, I think certainly when we came out of our first initial lockdown period; I remember the first sport being on TV was probably in New Zealand and Australia. It was a rugby union and rugby league. Then slowly, the Bundesliga started, and then the Premier League started.”
He signed off by saying, “And that almost displayed that you can play sport while the country is almost in full lockdown. If there's a template to make that happen, it has happened, but also as long as it doesn't disturb what's happening in the public eye.”
KKR will next lock horns with Delhi Capitals on Thursday (April 29).
(With ANI Inputs)
