Make health of cricketers a priority
It finally happened on Monday. Even as the nation was reeling under a devastating second wave of Covid, the Indian Premier League, currently being held in Ahmedabad and Delhi - two of the worst-hit cities where even access to COVID testing is like winning a lottery - reported a serious breach of the bubble.
Two Kolkata Knight Riders players - Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier - tested positive for the virus in Ahmedabad. In an unrelated development, three support staff from Chennai Super Kings - CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach L Balaji and another person - have also tested positive in Delhi.
Several ground staff at the Feroz Shah Kotla were also found to have COVID. All this means one thing: The aura of invincibility that the IPL had built for itself has been shattered. The virus appears to have sneaked into the bubble and is stalking its occupants.
The immediate consequence is mild: The game between Kolkata and Royal Challengers Bangalore, scheduled to be held on Monday, was postponed. The Delhi team that played against KKR has been put in isolation too.
It's incredulous to think that the IPL will just move along, pretending that all is well. This is now bigger than that. The health of the players and support staff - some over 50 - is now at risk. Rather than beating about the bush and trying to continue to host matches, the organisers should, at the very least, consider pausing.
They ought to prioritise everyone's health. Now that there is no bubble, there is a genuine danger. With multiple teams reporting cases, the prudent move is to test everybody, place all close contacts in hard quarantine and work backwards.
Players in the bubble are jittery. Also think about the foreign players. Some of them cannot even go back to their countries as it has been made a criminal offence. The onus is now on the IPL and its parent body, the BCCI, to treat their guests properly rather than continue the tournament.
A decision that places the health of players above commercialism would be prudent. As we said, nothing against the game, only the timing is not right.