Coronavirus: BCCI waiting for IPL advisory
NEW DELHI: The World Cup of shooting became the first major sporting event in India to be postponed due to the global novel coronavirus outbreak but the Indian Premier League looks set to roll out as planned in Mumbai on March 29. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly told PTI on Friday that all “preventive measures” will be in place to ensure that neither the players nor fans are impacted by the fast-spreading health crisis.
“The IPL is very much on. Everywhere, the tournaments are going on. England are already in Sri Lanka. South Africa are here. There are no issues,” he said. “County teams are travelling all over the world. They are travelling to Abu Dhabi, UAE to play. So there is no problem,” he added. Asked about the precautionary measures to ensure players and fans are not affected, Ganguly said a medical team is thrashing out the specifics. “We will take all precautions. I don’t know what exactly are the measures. The medical team will tell us about that,” he said.
It has been learned that the BCCI has reached out to the sports ministry before they issue any advisory to all stakeholders. The sports secretary Radhe Shyam Julaniya however said he is yet to hear from the BCCI. “I have not yet seen any letter from the BCCI to the coronavirus,” he said.
Officials say they have no plans to send guidelines other than any advice they receive from the government at this stage. “At this stage there is no need to panic. All standard guidelines which are shared by the health ministry will be passed on to all stakeholders— the franchises, the broadcast crew, commentators etc,” a BCCI medical professional said.
The franchises are awaiting guidelines from the BCCI which will be shared with their overseas players. “Many of our overseas players are inquiring if their travel will be safe and whether there will be visa issues. If they are carrying any common cough and cold symptoms and need to be quarantined, what happens then?” asked a franchise official.
According to the latest advisory, all foreign and Indian nationals entering India from any port, are required to furnish duly filled self-declaration form including personal particulars and travel history to health officials and immigration officials at all ports. The BCCI however is clear public health safety measures will have to be followed in case a player shows symptoms during screening at ports of entry.
“They would be quarantined and tested further. One would have to respect that. We are keeping a tab on developments as things evolve,” said an official. There is no talk of issuing any public safety guidelines for spectators or putting out restrictions on players’ celebrations from the BCCI.