The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday (May 4) decided to postpone the 2021 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) with immediate effect.
The decision came after multiple COVID-19 cases were reported in the bio-secure bubble of various franchises.
Reacting to the development, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar said he saw it coming and had suggested the same a couple of weeks ago.
Taking to Twitter, Akhtar shared snippet from his latest video on YouTube and wrote: “IPL canceled. I saw it coming & suggested that two weeks ago. Nothing more important than saving human lives during current covid crisis in India.”
In the video, the Rawalpindi Express said: “India is currently going through a national catastrophe and that’s why I had appealed to suspend the IPL. 4 lakhs COVID-19 cases are coming for the last 12 days, people are dying in thousands and you can’t think of conducting IPL or any other event at this time.”
The IPL 2021 season saw only 29 games being held in four venues – Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Delhi.
On Monday (May 3), two players at Kolkata Knight Riders, Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result, the match between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore couldn’t take place.
Furthermore, a couple of positive cases were detected in the Chennai Super Kings contingent, including bowling coach L Balaji while Delhi Capitals’ Amit Mishra and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Wriddhiman Saha too contracted COVID-19.
"The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect," BCCI said in a media release.
"The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stakeholders in mind."
BCCI further said it will do “everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021”.
