Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday (November 27) said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should consult the government before sending the Indian cricket team to South Africa after a new COVID-19 variant has emerged in the rainbow nation.
A new variant of the coronavirus, called B.1.1.529, has been identified in South Africa and the World Health Organization (WHO) has already declared the new "Omicron variant" as worrisome, which has caused a significant panic across the globe.
Well, India A team is already in South Africa, competing in a three-match, four-day series, although the series will continue amid the cases of the new variant in the country.
Team India is slated to tour South Africa next month to play three Tests, three ODIs, and four T20Is from December 17 to December 17, and Thakur feels it is not right to send the team despite knowing about the threat.
Thakur told ANI: “Not only BCCI, but every board should also consult the Indian government before sending the team to a country where a new COVID-19 variant has emerged. It is not right to send the team to a country where there is a threat, if BCCI consults us we will deliberate on that.”
Meanwhile, the WHO said in a statement on Friday: “The recently discovered variant of coronavirus B.1.1.529 is of concern. It has more mutations than science knows about other alarming variants. The WHO has assessed this new variant as worrisome.”
Notably, Scientists have said that the Omicron variant is the most heavily mutated version yet, which means COVID-19 vaccines may not be as effective for the new variant.
(With ANI Inputs)
