IPL 2021: PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia defends move to hold the tournament in India
Punjab Kings (PBKS) co-owner Ness Wadia believes the decision to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) in India was the right one at the time the choice was made. Wadia added that things, unfortunately, went awry in recent weeks.
BCCI had to halt IPL 2021 indefinitely on Tuesday after COVID-19 cases emerged out of the bio-bubble for the second day in a row. Ness Wadia admitted that the decision to postpone the tournament was the right one. He told NDTV:
"It's unfortunate that we had to suspend the IPL. I think it's the correct decision."
Ness Wadia added that it is 'unfortunate' that the COVID-19 situation in India has gone askew in the last two to three weeks.
"I think the decision earlier to start it also was a good decision given everything. It's unfortunate, the last 2-3 weeks things have gotten out of hand. I think we were all pretty comfortable with the fact that India was doing better and it's unfortunate that it's come back with such a vengeance,” Wadia said.
Wadia also said there is uncertainty over when the IPL is likely to resume.
"I'm not sure, it might happen some time in the future," the PBKS co-owner added.
If this IPL had gone off without any hiccup, people would have said it's amazing: Ness Wadia
In the days before IPL 2021 came to an unfortunate halt, there was a growing clamor to stop the tournament, suggesting it was not the right time to hold a sporting event. Ness Wadia, however, disagreed with the view and said:
"There's always going to be a negative viewpoint, or a view point that thinks we could have, should have and if they were there, they would have done better. I would just like to point out that this IPL was planned two months in advance. There was meticulous planning. The IPL was held in the UAE last year, and there was not a single case."
Ness Wadia further elaborated that people would have hailed the BCCI if the IPL had gone off without any setbacks.
"If this IPL had gone off, and if almost if not more than 50% had gone off without any hiccup or cases, people would have said it's amazing, India's amazing, it's amazing what the BCCI has done. There will always be naysayers, those who say don't do things. I think it's good that we demonstrated that India can hold international events of this scale, protecting the people,” Wadia explained.
IPL 2021 suffered a setback on Monday after two Kolkata Knight Riders players - Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier - tested positive for COVID-19. More names kept coming out as the day progressed.
And once it was revealed on Tuesday that Wriddhiman Saha (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Amit Mishra (Delhi Capitals) had also tested positive, the writing was on the wall as far as the immediate future of IPL 2021 was concerned.