Sourav Ganguly insists hosting IPL amid COVID-19 pandemic was not a mistake

India’s cricket chief Sourav Ganguly defended the decision to hold the Indian Premier League during the COVID-19 emergency, insisting that it wasn’t a mistake. In an interview with the Indian Express, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President said that the main reason for calling off IPL was because of the number of cases, “has just gone through the roof”.

With each day’s new highs, India is reporting nearly 4,000 deaths four lakh cases a day. Seeing the surge in cases, BCCI suspended the world’s riched cricket tournament on Tuesday after many players tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, the foreign players have already left and the Australian players, coaches, and umpires are expected to arrive in the Maldives. Until they can return home without breaking the ban on people who have been in India, as PM of Australia have imposed a ban and also a fine for the players.

On asked whether it was a mistake to hold IPL in India, Ganguly said: “when we decided, the number was not even close to this. We did the England tour successfully. The BCCI considered holding the IPL in the United Arab Emirates as it did last year, but stuck with India because the cases were nothing.”

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The tournament was indefinitely suspended after four players from Royal Challenges Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Delhi Capitals tested positive earlier this week.

Ganguly also said it was “very difficult to say” how the coronavirus entered the team bubble and infected the players while “professional hands had been managing the bio-bubble”. 

Ganguly also said that rescheduling the IPL 2021 season will be difficult due to a jam-packed calender, as well as because they had to release overseas players to their respective countries.