The Indian cricket board (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly had written to the state associations on June 10 that standard operation procedures (SOPs) for resumption will be shared in a couple of weeks. It’s been over 40 days and the SOPs haven’t been shared. It has now emerged that the BCCI is now focusing on preparing an IPL-oriented SOP after ICC T20 World Cup has been postponed for a year.
IPL will now be played in UAE. But there’s unease among Indian cricket’s crucial stakeholders (including players) over BCCI delaying the SOPs so far. The delay has eaten into preparation time, triggering anxiety among the cricketers. The IPL franchises also believe they could have got a head start if the SOPs were in place. They are hoping for three weeks time in UAE before the tournament starts. In comparison, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) had released SOPs for federation way back on May 14.
In the past fortnight, cricketers (both Team India and domestic) have arranged their own training sessions. The likes of Mohammad Shami, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav have been training together. While BCCI, on its part, had declared that the players could start training at their local facilities, there were no specific guidelines for a practice session. Amateur cricketers and young academy players have also joined these sessions.
“The players are frustrated sitting idle in their homes. They have waited long enough and BCCI’s intended camp is being pushed back. The players were always aware that IPL would happen this year. They had to get back to playing cricket. They are taking basic precautions but there is no one to monitor it,” a senior cricketer said. “These are not very technical sessions. These are more about getting the feel of the bat and ball. The players are playing with whatever equipment and facility is available to them,” he added.
The IPL franchises are also aware that the players need time to get match-ready besides narrowing down on the logistics. “The franchises have been told that BCCI would come up with SOPs very specific to the league. The franchises are expecting some clarity soon. The teams have been in touch with the players. It’s important for them to get back in touch with cricket besides doing physical training,” a senior franchise official said. “The teams have already got down to work and are taking cues from how various sporting events are being conducted currently.
