Staging IPL in India was a mistake: Nasser Hussain

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes that staging the Indian Premier League in India was a huge mistake. Now, the Covid-19 crisis in India has left BCCI with no other option but to suspend the Indian Premier League 2021. After reporting several cases in the bio bubble, the officials decided to postpone the tournament for the safety of the players and the staff involved. Despite mounting criticism in recent days, the competition had continued even as coronavirus cases increased across the country. However, a suspension was likely to happen as Covid cases kept on rising despite the IPL bio-bubble. Nasser Hussain said that the cricketers would have been uncomfortable after seeing the Covid-19 crisis in India. He further reckoned that it was evident through the contributions and donations that the cricketers were making.

IPL 2021 should have been held in UAE: Nasser Hussain

After hosting the England series this year, the Indian cricket board was confident of conducting the IPL 2021 successfully. However, after the conclusion of 29 games, the tournament was hit hard by the dreadful virus. Apart from Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier testing positive, more COVID-19 cases were reported in the bio bubble. After the emergence of new Covid-19 cases, the BCCI decided to suspend the league for the time being. Owing to the Covid-19 situation in the country, the IPL had moved to UAE last year. But that wasn’t the case this year. Former batsman Nasser Hussain believes it was a mistake to host IPL in India. 

The COVID-19 outbreak in the country saw several overseas players pulling out from the tournament. Andrew Tye, Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, and Kane Richardson are some of the cricketers that have recently opted out of the tournament. Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa both were playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Andrew Tye was a part of the Rajasthan Royals team. With these three Australian players withdrawing, the IPL 2021 now has 14 Aussie players left.

Cricket Australia was in constant touch with the players and also inquired about their health and travel plans. A few days back, Rajasthan Royal's all-rounder Liam Livingstone has opted out of the Indian Premier League due to bubble fatigue. The English cricketer has already headed back home. Umpires Nitin Menon and Paul Reiffel have also opted out of the Indian Premier League. Indian umpire Nitin Menon has left because his wife and mother reportedly tested positive for Covid. On the other hand, Australian Umpire Reiffel returned home due to anxiety as the Australian government is not allowing flights from India.

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