31 August 2020 12:00 am
By Bipin Dani
Mumbai-based Social Activist Ravi Nair has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials to scrap this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).
Having sent a five page legal notice through his lawyer Tanweer Nizam to the BCCI officials, Nair has stated, “As a cricket lover, I feel sorry that our Indian government and the Indian cricket board believe that the UAE is safe to conduct the IPL at this season. This is in spite of 68000 cases and 490 cases everyday in the UAE.”
“That this approval was given without keeping the safety and well-being of the Indian players is hence a violation of rights and constitutional guarantees to every citizen of India, including the players featured in the 13th edition of the IPL,” the notice said.
“By merely shifting the venue we are not conclusively keeping our valuable citizens/cricketers away from exposure to the deadly contagion COVID-19,” his letter, also addressed to the Indian Prime Minister, said.
On Saturday, the BCCI announced that 13 personnel have tested positive of which two are players. All affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members.
Suresh Raina of Chennai Super Kings is reported to have returned home because of the COVID-19 fear, which has escalated the situation.
“The International Cricket Council (ICC) postponing its T20 World Cup to November 2021 and 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, begs the question as to why the IPL could not have been postponed,” Nair, who has also written letters to the ICC and all other cricket boards whose players are to participate in the tournament, argued.
“It is clear that monetization and commercialization of cricket sold via broadcasting, advertising revenues, etc. are more important than lives of cricketers,” the notice said.