Finance
By: Shree1news, 05 APR 2021
Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik on Monday confirmed that the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches would be going ahead in Mumbai as planned and there would be no hurdles.
His confirmation comes a day after it was announced that Maharashtra would be entering weekend lockdown from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 pm to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“The permission has been given for the matches with restrictions, the crowd wouldn’t be allowed to enter the stadiums. Whoever is participating in the IPL, would have to stay at one place in isolation. There may be no overcrowding, we’ve made this clear and on this basis, we’ve given the permission,” Malik told.
“There are many people demanding for vaccination, BCCI has also requested that the players be vaccinated. We also know that there are many people in Maharashtra who’re vulnerable to being exposed to the virus. We also want the age limit to be reduced so that we can vaccinate, but unless the Central Government provides the permission, we can’t do so,” he added.
On Sunday, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had also confirmed that everything will go on as per schedule in the 14th edition of the IPL.
“Everything will go on as per schedule,” Ganguly informed.
Wankhede Stadium is set to host 10 IPL games this season from April 10-25. The first match at the Mumbai stadium is slated to be played on April 10 between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.
Four franchises — Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals have set up their base in Mumbai as of now. The BCCI can also be considering of players’ vaccination ahead of the IPL with BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla saying that the board will get in touch with the Health Ministry for players’ vaccination.
“In order to cope with this coronavirus rise, I think the only solution is to get vaccinated. BCCI is also thinking on those lines that players should be vaccinated. Nobody is aware of when coronavirus is going to end and you can’t give a deadline that by this time frame, it is not going to be there so players can play easily. So, I believe now will have to think over that. Vaccination ought to be done for the players also,” Shukla told.
When asked if BCCI has written to the Health Ministry regarding players’ vaccination, Shukla mentioned the BCCI is mulling over the idea and they will definitely get in contact with the ministry that players needs to be vaccinated.
Source:A-N
