KOCHI: With the Covid-19 outbreak in the country showing no signs of slowing down, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the upcoming domestic cricket season.
From the prospect of having the entire season scrapped to conducting a severely truncated one, many fear the worst. Kerala's head coach Tinu Yohannan believes that it would be catastrophic if the entire season is scrapped.
"BCCI wrote a letter to everyone saying that the decision has been kept pending due to the Covid-19 situation. We don't have any clarity as of now. But if the season doesn't happen, it will be catastrophic.
Many domestic cricketers depend on these tournaments and it will be a major loss for them if the season gets scrapped. Some solution must be found for these cricketers as they earn their bread and butter through these competitions," said Yohannan.
With a record number of new cases being reported every day in India, conducting all the domestic tournaments would be a logistical challenge.
In this scenario, the former India pacer suggested that at least a few competitions should be held if a full season is not possible.
"The Ranji Trophy should be given priority. Since the U-19 World Cup is also on the horizon, those who are in the fray for that should get some match practice " he said.
The BCCI is currently busy trying to successfully conduct the Indian Premier League which is expected to start from September 19 in the United Arab Emirates. Yohannan feels that the BCCI will try to resolve the domestic cricket issue soon.
"Hosting the IPL will give them (BCCI) a lot of confidence. Right now, identifying venues in India to host the tournaments is probably the biggest challenge. All the metros are ruled out due to the high number of cases. Other alternative venues need to be looked at. We expect some decisions by the end of October. Nobody knows how things will be one or two months down the line," he said.
The prevailing situation has meant that Yohannan, who had taken over as the head coach of the team from Dav Whatmore at the end of last season, has not been able to work closely with his squad.
"All that we can do right now is to monitor the progress of the players - like their fitness levels and their skill levels over online sessions. We are able to closely monitor players who are in Kochi. As far as others are concerned, our coaches in those regions look after the players and are in touch with them regularly. I will also be keeping a close eye on our players who will be playing in the IPL this year," he said.