"Made a request to the BCCI for vaccination": Delhi Capitals CEO
Delhi Capitals CEO Vinod Bisht said they requested the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) to vaccinate the players ahead of IPL 2021. With the teams set to play across six different venues in a caravan-format, he thinks vaccination will help in conducting a hassle-free IPL.
Vinod Bisht seems assured that the BCCI will forward this request to the government and hopes that the government will recognize the importance of protection for an event such as the IPL.
"It (vaccination) has been on top of our mind, especially in a scenario like the one we have this year where the IPL is in caravan model and we have to travel from one city to another. We made a request to the BCCI, I am pretty sure that the BCCI would have also put that request to the government, which I am not aware of, and the government also I am sure has a priority which is set in like you yourself mentioned that the Olympic athletes are the top priority and certainly I feel the government will recognise that an event of this nature requires that protection," he said while speaking to ANI.
The Delhi Capitals CEO also opined that, apart from the players, all the other personnel involved in IPL 2021 should get the vaccine.
"And they will certainly prioritise not only the players, the associated staff and the broadcasting team and everyone who is in the management to get vaccinated so that we have an event-free IPL," he explained.
The BCCI, however, in the SOPs released earlier today, noted that it isn't possible to vaccinate everyone involved in the upcoming tournament.
The Delhi Capitals CEO is grateful to the BCCI
The Delhi Capitals CEO commended the BCCI for putting together the IPL 2021 in such a challenging situation. He also noted that the BCCI is capable of facing any challenge that could come their way during the course of the league.
"Firstly, we got to be grateful to BCCI to be able to put together this event even in this challenging scenario. The scenario in itself is evolving by the day and new challenges come up for the event organisers and I am sure BCCI has the wherewithal to deal with them. The guidelines will get modified with an eye on the developing scenario and I am sure for an organisation like BCCI, they will always have an alternate plan put together if the situation presents itself," he said.
When asked if it was the right idea to have a caravan model for the tournament, Vinod Bisht said that the BCCI had done well with whatever resources they had.
"Actually this is benchmarked to what happened in IPL 13 where everybody was located at one place and everything was within a distance which was manageable from wherever everyone was staying. Unfortunately we don't have that kind of infrastructure advantage in any of the locations which BCCI could use. That is how this particular caravan model came up," he added.
The Delhi Capitals CEO thinks that this edition of the IPL could be more challenging than the previous one given that the franchise won't have a home advantage. Speaking about the same, he said:
"This also means a franchise doesn't play at home, so that takes away the other team's disadvantage and puts everyone on the same pedestal. IPL 14 is definitely going to be more challenging as compared to the last edition."