As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 continues in India amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Delhi-based lawyer has moved the Delhi High Court on Monday, seeking the cancellation of the games in Delhi. The plea filed by Karan S Thukral has contented that conducting IPL matches in Delhi, where the normal people are suffering the shortage of beds, oxygen, essential medicines, and people are cremating their loved ones is “unreasonable and unjustified”. 4 more matches are scheduled to be played in the national capital.
In his petition, Thukral has said, “On one side, people are dying due to a lack of hospital beds and are seen waiting in queues to cremate their loved ones, while on the other end, instead of applying resources to its optimal use, the respondent(s) have deemed it appropriate to go on and support the conduct of the IPL.”
With two players – Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier testing positive for COVID-19, Monday’s match between KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had to be rescheduled.
ALSO READ: CSK CEO Comes Out Negative After Further RT-PCR Tests
BCCI in their statement regarding the same had said, “Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier were found to be positive in the third round of testing in the last four days. All other team members have tested negative for COVID -19. Both the players have isolated themselves from the rest of the squad. The Medical Team is in continuous touch with the duo and is monitoring their health. Meanwhile, the Kolkata Knight Riders have now moved towards a daily testing routine to identify any other possible causes and treat them at the earliest.”
Meanwhile, a few groundsmen at the Arun Jaitley stadium have also tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). It was earlier reported that three staff members of Chennai Super Kings, including bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji, have also tested positive. But the BCCI later confirmed that those were cases of “false positives”.
ALSO READ: Possible Reasons Behind KKR Players Testing Covid-19 Positive
Calls to cancel the IPL 2021 have been growing for quite some time now as India is battling through its second COVID wave, with cases surging to 3 lakh/day. Several international cricketers have withdrawn from the tournament, amid the surge in fear of being infected.
