File photo of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly (left) with secretary Jay Shah.
Highlights
- In an email to state units, Ganguly wrote that postponement was necessary for safety of all teams
- As many as eight players tested COVID positive in run-up to the Ranji Trophy kick-off
- Ganguly stressed that the board would do everything to restart the domestic season
Following the postponement of the Indian cricket domestic season due to the COVID-19 surge, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has assured state units that the board will soon restart the season and the situation is under control.
The BCCI on Tuesday had to put on hold the Ranji Trophy, which was set to begin later this month, and a few other tournaments due to a surge in COVID 19 cases in the country.
"As you are aware, we had to put on hold the currently on-going domestic season due to the worsening COVID-19 situation (sic)," Ganguly said to the associations in a letter, which is in possession of news agency PTI.
The Ranji Trophy and Col CK Nayudu Trophy were scheduled to begin this month while the Senior Women's T20 League was scheduled to commence in February.
"The COVID cases are rapidly increasing and there were multiple positive cases in many teams. It posed an imminent threat to the health and safety of players, officials and all others related to the running of the tournaments," Ganguly wrote in the mail to presidents and secretaries of all the units.
Ganguly stressed that the board would do everything to restart the domestic season.
"The BCCI would like to reassure that it will do everything to restart the domestic season once the COVID situation is under control. We are committed to holding the remaining tournaments for this season. The Board will shortly come back to you with a revised plan (sic)," said Ganguly.
Seven members of the Bengal squad and India all-rounder Shivam Dube, along with Mumbai team's video analyst, had tested positive for COVID-19 in the run-up to the Ranji Trophy, which was scheduled to start across the country on January 13.
The premier domestic tournament did not happen in the 2020-2021 season due to the pandemic. The COVID-19 situation is grim across all the major cities with Delhi and Mumbai recording thousands of new cases, several of them being affected by the new Omicron variant.
(Reported by PTI)
