If the COVID cases do not rise in the country, bio-bubbles may not be required in the IPL: Sourav Ganguly

The ongoing IPL season is currently being held across four venues in two cities of Maharashtra- Mumbai and Pune respectively. Usually, the marquee tournament is hosted in different venues across the country but this time, the organizers had to take a stand and impose a lot of restrictions including strict bio-bubbles due to the outbreak of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.

Now, in a move to ease the situation for the players and the support staff, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has reportedly said that the bio-bubble can be taken out of the equation if India continues to record a low number of coronavirus cases. The fans are currently allowed entry into stadiums to watch the games.

We will have to wait and watch for how long will they will be able to play in one place: Sourav Ganguly

“If the Covid cases do not rise in the country, bio-bubbles may not be required in the IPL. But, we will have to wait and watch for how long will they will be able to play in one place. Covid is here to stay – it will be around for another 10 years, so we have to live with it”, said Ganguly while speaking to News18.

The Indian Premier League has been staged behind closed doors since the 2020 edition. While that year’s cash-rich tournament was completely held in the UAE, the 2021 edition was first held in India before a rise in COVID cases in five different camps temporarily suspended the tournament for four months before being rescheduled in the Middle East in September-October.

With the inclusion of two new franchises Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, the tournament has been stretched to over two months with the number of matches being increased to 74 (70 league and four knockouts). Thus, the bio-bubble could be really taxing for the participants as the tournament goes on for almost more than two months.