BCCI decides to postpone the knockout games of U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy after a sudden surge in COVID19 cases among the participating teams.
BCCI Postponed Cooch Behar Trophy
Though the tournament was played in a bio-secured bubble in Pune some of the players have tested positive for COVID19 and had to be isolated. Keeping all the factors in mind, the Board is of the opinion that it is not in a situation to go ahead with the tournament any further.
“Keeping everyone’s health and safety in mind, the knockout matches to be held in Pune have been put on hold until further notice. The BCCI had conducted 93 matches across 20 venues in the league stage.
“The Board will continue to monitor the situation and identify a new window once the situation improves,” said the BCCI in a statement.
“The decision was taken after around 50 positive cases were found, the report came last night and a decision to postpone the tournament was taken this morning,” said a BCCI source.
Last week, the BCCI had postponed the Ranji Trophy, the Col. C. K. Nayudu Trophy, and the Senior Women’s T20 League. However, it was then decided that Cooch Behar Trophy would go ahead since the tournament was “underway.”
Jay Shah Letters to the State cricket board
In a letter to State units, BCCI secretary Jay Shah wrote, “As estimated, the caseload shot up immediately. I believe a timely call was taken and it will help us curb the spread of the new variant, which is far more infectious…”
“At the time, it was decided that Cooch Behar Trophy, which had already started can continue as we had successfully completed the league stage involving 93 matches across 20 venues.
We were set for the knockout stage in Pune with quarterfinals from tomorrow but with just seven matches left in the tournament, the virus has raised its head again.
Unfortunately, there have been COVID-19 cases within the team environment, and we are now forced to postpone the knockout stage, keeping the health and safety of everyone concerned,” Shah wrote.
But now, training sessions have been called off and players are being asked to stay back in the hotel as the respective State units wait for a formal word from the Board before bringing their respective teams back home.
“Once the caseload again goes down and the situation improves, we will lock in a new window and resume the knockout leg of the tournament,” Shah wrote to the State associations.
Hosts Maharashtra, along with Mumbai, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Bengal, and Haryana have qualified for the quarter-finals, which were set to start on Tuesday.
