The Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the IPL matches will be held in Mumbai as there is nothing to worry about inside a bio-bubble.
Ganguly has given a green signal to host matches in Mumbai despite the recent spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the city.
10 groundsmen of the Wankhede stadium and a few event managers were recently tested positive, which had raised doubts on the hosting rights of Mumbai. However, Ganguly added that there won’t be any issues once the tournament starts inside the bio-bubble.
Mumbai will host 10 IPL matches between April 10 to April 25 for the upcoming season.
“Lockdown in a way will be better since not many people will be around. So it will be restricted to few people who will undergo regular tests inside the bio-bubble,” Sourav told The Telegraph on Saturday.
Ganguly recalled that such incidents had also occurred in the previous season but in the end, everything was successfully organized.
“The IPL matches will be held in Mumbai,” Sourav said. “Once you are in a bubble nothing happens. Even in the UAE last season, there were a few such incidents in the lead-up to the event but once the tournament started everything was fine,” he said.
In fact, Ganguly has revealed that the Indian board has got permission from the state government to host matches in Mumbai even if the lockdown is imposed.
“Lockdown won’t be a problem since we have got the necessary permission and assurances from the state government to conduct matches there. Mumbai will be hosting only ten matches between April 10 to 25 and there will be nothing to worry about inside the bio-bubble. We are in a well-secured set-up and the players and support staff will be safe,” the BCCI president insisted.
Meanwhile, the Indian board has decided to keep Indore and Hyderabad as the two stand-by venues in case there is another spike in the number of cases in Mumbai.
Mumbai will host its first match of the season between previous edition runners-up Delhi Capitals and three-time champions Chennai Super Kings on 10th April.
