Owing to a resurge of COVID-19 infections across the country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended junior inter-state tournaments at least till the end of May.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah informed the BCCI affiliates about the decision through an email on Tuesday. “While our endeavour was to get in as many matches as was practicable across different age groups in the season, prevailing circumstances have now forced us to suspend all age-group tournaments,” Shah stated in the email, accessed by
Sportstar .
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“This is on account of the fact that active COVID cases are on the rise and organising tournaments requires intercity travel, strict quarantine measures and the creation and maintenance of bio-secure bubbles for the participants. Moreover, the situation is presently not conducive in some states.”
Having organised limited overs’ tournaments for the senior men and women, the BCCI had earlier announced it will stage the under-19 boys’ one-day tournament. However, the chances of no junior cricket - under-16 and under-23 events had already been cancelled - are greater now with the BCCI having decided to not host the Vinoo Mankad Trophy or the Cooch Behar Trophy at least till the end of the IPL.
“Considering the fact that the 10th and 12th Board Examinations are also around the corner across India, it is prudent that our young athletes have the opportunity to prepare and focus on these crucial examinations. Furthermore, our players’ health, safety and well-being are our primary concern,” Shah said.
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“I assure you that we will continue exploring a window for organising the age-group tournaments post the IPL 2021,” she added.
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