Indian shooter and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra criticized the BCCI for conducting IPL 2021 amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in the country. He said that cricketers and officials can’t just live in their own bubble and ignore what’s going on in the country.
He wrote in his column for the Indian Express newspaper, “Cricketers and officials can’t just live in their own bubble, and be totally deaf or blind to whatever is going outside.”
“I can only imagine that while you’re having these IPL games, outside the stadium you have ambulances going to hospitals. I don’t know how the coverage on TV is but I would really appreciate if it’s a little bit muted in nature. I think celebration and everything around it should be at a minimum because you have to show a little bit of respect to society,” he added.
“Secondly, if I was the BCCI president and had the capability and – I understand the IPL is not a charity – I would definitely give a large amount to do, say, the vaccination right or help out in any other way. This is one way to acknowledge that to conduct IPL right now is a huge privilege and everyone should act responsibly,” Bindra wrote, without mentioning the name of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
India witnessed more than 3.52 lakhs Covid-19 cases in the last 24-hours. Moreover, 2767 people have lost their lives. At present, there are more than 26 lakh active cases of Covid-19 in the country.