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IPL organisers reject criticism, say cricket lifts Covid-19 gloom

29 Apr 2021

[caption id="attachment_132799" align="alignleft" width="429"] The senior BCCI official, however, said the cricket was providing important solace and entertainment to many people during hard times[/caption]

 In a fevered social media debate over whether the Indian Premier League (IPL) show should go on, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been accused of being “tone-deaf” for its stance.

The senior BCCI official, however, said the cricket was providing important solace and entertainment to many people during hard times, even though fans are not being allowed into stadiums to watch the games. The tournament is watched by millions of viewers on television.

People will go out without masks

“It’s probably more important now to hold IPL, when there is so much negativity around,” the official had told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

“We should not underestimate the power of sport to spread positivity. At least fans are absorbed in it at home. Otherwise many of them will step out without masks.

‘We are providing entertainment’

“The league generates considerable money for the economy. It has to be seen from that context too. How does stopping IPL help?”

Satish Menon, the Chief Executive of the Punjab Kings franchise, echoed the sentiment.

“For people sitting at home, we are providing entertainment. Otherwise, they have very little to do,” he has said, reported Al Jazeera yesterday.

‘Playing for… humanity’

After four cricketers playing in the league, including a trio of Australians, decided to forego their lucrative wages and head home, the BCCI launched a charm offensive aimed at the players.

Acting Chief Executive Hemang Amin sent an email to the league’s eight franchises on Tuesday (27), assuring them of the players’ safety within the league’s bio-secure bubble.

“While you are professionals and will play to win, this time you are also playing for something much more important… humanity,” Amin wrote in his mail, seen by Reuters.

Divergent views

The debate over whether the IPL should continue has also played out in the traditional media with a Chennai-based newspaper suspending its coverage of the league on Sunday until “normalcy is restored”

There are divergent views in the media too, however.

“It is misguided moral outrage to call for an end to the IPL amid the pandemic,” the Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial on Tuesday.

“… cricket or cinema or music offers a reprieve … the responsibility of fighting the pandemic is not on players or celebrities, but state and central governments,” it added.

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