KOCHI:B While most have come to terms with living in the times of a pandemic, it is the uncertainty that comes with it, which can be disruptive. The 2021-22 I-League season had kick-started amidst much promise on Boxing Day, but uncertainty looms large after the bio-bubble was breached with many teams reporting Covid positive cases.
It is believed that five players and three officials of Real Kashmir and one player each from Mohammedan Sporting, Aizawl FC and Sreenidi tested positive from tests which were conducted on Tuesday. “We hope to play soon because the whole point of being in a bio-bubble and taking all the precautions is to compete. Let’s hope the matches resume soon because the players are focused on only that,” said Gokulam Kerala FC president VC Praveen.
The I-League Committee held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to take cognizance of the situation and decided to postpone six of the upcoming matches. The situation will be reviewed again on January 4 to decide the future course, according to I-League chairman Subrata Dutta.
Having successfully held the I-League inside a bio-bubble last season, this comes as a logistical nightmare for the organisers and they are taking a safety-first approach to try and contain the situation based on the advice of Dr. Harsh Mahajan, who is part of the AIFF Sports Medical Committee.
Among the games cancelled is that of defending champions Gokulam against NEROCA on Thursday and Praveen feels that dealing with such a situation early on is better. Three bio-bubbles were created for the league and the outbreak happened in one of them.