Arun Lal counters BCCI’s SOP for professionals aged 60+, cites PM Narendra Modi’s example
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for international and domestic cricket necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic that will affect some top coaches like Bengal's Arun Lal.
The board decided to exclude professionals over 60 years of age from attending training sessions. Coaches like Bengal’s Arun Lal and Saurashtra’s Karsan Ghavri are above the age of 60.
As per the BCCI SOP, Arun Lal cannot go the field, more so because he is a cancer survivor and the Coronavirus is risky for people with a medical history. But Arun Lal has countered the SOP citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's example. In an interview to PTI, he asked, "The Prime Minister is 69 and he's running the country in these times. Are they telling him to step down?”
The 65-year-old former cricketer coached Bengal to a runners-up prize in the 2019-2020 Ranji Trophy. Arun Lal is not among those who give up easily, and so he further said that just because he is above 60 years of age, he will not lock himself in a room.
"Me as a person, whether I coach Bengal or not is immaterial but I will live my life. Don't expect me that I'm 65 years old, so I will lock myself in a room for the next 30 years. This does not happen like this," Arun Lal said.
Arun Lal says he will take precautions but not isolate himself
He also emphasized on the importance of taking precautions during the pandemic - wearing a mask - among other things. But made it clear that he will not be isolating himself because he is not under 60.
"I will take precautions like everybody else - social distancing, hand washing, sanitising, mask-wearing all that I will do. Unnecessarily there will be no foolhardiness. But I will not quarantine myself just because I'm 60-plus. Virus does not know the difference between 59 and 60," Arun Lal said.