The Maharashtra government cleared the way for the IPL to be held in COVID-ravaged Mumbai on Monday, enabling teams to train after 8 p.m. and return to their hotels during the night curfew enforced to curb the pandemic. Due to a large increase in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai and Maharashtra, the state government declared “Break the Chain” on Sunday, imposing section 144 and a night-curfew from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays throughout Maharashtra, including Mumbai. The rules will be applied starting tonight.
The state government, on the other hand, has permitted IPL teams to train after 8 p.m. as long as “strict adherence to bio-bubble” is maintained. The event begins on April 9 in Chennai.
In a letter to the BCCI, Srirang Gholap, Under Secretary of the Disaster Management, Relief, and Rehabilitation department, wrote: “Considering the match-timings, teams training at the CCI and MCA are expected to practise in two sessions — from 4pm to 6.30pm and 7.30pm to 10pm.”
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host ten IPL matches, nine of which are scheduled to begin at 7.30 p.m.
The first match at the Wankhede will be between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals on April 10. On Sunday, the city reported over 11,000 COVID-19 incidents.
“…permission has been sought for teams and IPL personnel to train within the grounds after 8 p.m., and they will be given free travel from the field to their respective hotels after that point,” the statement reads.
“Accordingly, permission is hereby granted for the aforementioned request subject to strict adherence to the bio-bubble,” the letter said. PTI has a copy of the letter.
In a related trend, most of the Wankhede’s ten ground-staff members who had previously tested positive for the virus have now tested negative, which is a huge relief for the Mumbai Cricket Association.