CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) will hold a meeting this week to discuss possibilities of resumption of activities. With the state government relaxing restrictions, the state cricket body plans to normalise gradually. Completion of the league which got stuck midway is priority. Officials have also decided to allow players to use the nets at MAC Stadium for practice.
“The MAC Stadium is in good condition and so are the nets. They can be used for practice if the players want to do so. We have to assess the state of other grounds. Some of them were used in the fight against coronavirus. We want to assess if they are in a position to host matches now. If everything is fine, we can then think of completing the league. But it’s not possible to set a date at the moment,” said an official.
Facilities in and around MAC Stadium were under maintenance when the state was under lockdown. The TNCA is willing to allow net practice, but this will also depend on what the players want. Standard precautionary guidelines will be followed and those who want to practise have to turn up in small groups. The TNCA will convey the dos and don’ts to the players before they start practice.
Out of practice for more than two months, Tamil Nadu players are a mixed lot as far as going back to nets at the moment in concerned. Opener Abhinav Mukund wants to be indoors a bit longer, citing the high percentage of Covid-19 cases in and around his locality. On the other hand. all-rounder Vijay Shankar is willing to start hitting the nets as soon as he gets a confirmation from TNCA that practice can resume.
The state association has asked its players to get in touch with the physical trainer, and they are sticking to the routines that have been handed out by him. “As far as training goes, we are doing what we have been told. Fitness-wise, we are doing alright at the moment. Batting and bowling have not been possible. Once the TNCA says we can have nets, we will be back. But there is no date yet,” said batsman Baba Aparajith.
While completing the league is priority for the TNCA, there is no news of its flagship event Tamil Nadu Premier League being held in the near future. Scheduled to start on June 10, it was postponed indefinitely. Under the circumstances, the association is unable to work out new dates. It’s possible that some decision of the T20 tournament will be taken when office-bearers meet president Rupa Gurunath later this week.