There’s havoc once again thanks to the one and only Covid-19 which has been harassing us since the last two years. Just when things seemed to be getting better and under control, Omicron has popped up and countries are once again going into lockdowns across the world. And in India too, the domestic sporting scene was just getting better but there are fresh disruptions now because of the virus.
The latest problem that has been caused because of rising cases of coronavirus across the country is that the leading First Class tournament in the country is now in doubt. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) initially said they won’t postpone the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy, they’ve now been left with no alternative as the number of cases are spiralling out of control in India.
Covid-19 affects Ranji Trophy 2022
The Ranji Trophy season was all set to begin on 13th January 2022 but the BCCI was left with no option but to postpone the event as a number of positive cases also emerged in the Bengal camp, which was supposed to play on the opening day of the season. The scheduled CK Nayudu Trophy and the senior Women’s T20 League will now not be held either.
The Ranji Trophy was not held last year because of Covid-19 and now once again, has been postponed because of the same reason. Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Trivandrum were scheduled to be the six locations where the event would take place. In the last couple of months, BCCI successfully hosted the Syed Mushtag Ali Trophy (T20) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODD) before the surge in cases began.
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“BCCI does not want to compromise the safety of the players, support staff, match officials and other participants involved and hence, has decided to put the three tournaments on hold till further notice. The BCCI will continue to assess the situation and take a call on the start of the tournaments accordingly,” said BCCI Secretary Jay Shah about the Ranji Trophy postponement in a statement.
What are the options for Ranji Trophy 2022?
At some point, life will have to go on. Especially with the death rate now much lower, people and countries are accepting that they have to live with the virus, and sports leagues may have to accept that too. Take a look at the Big Bash League, which had 20+ positive cases but the league has been unaffected, with squads and schedules being changed as they see fit, so long as the game went on.
The other option would be to host a condensed version of the event. We all know that the Ranji Trophy is a long drawn out season every year but BCCI could consider halving the fixtures and the format, in order to get the tournament done in a shorter window, as and when health authorities deem it fit for the tournament to be held.
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