“Depends on the situation”: Sourav Ganguly on whether crowd will be allowed to watch IPL 2021 matches or not

Sourav Ganguly: The BCCI President opened up on his health, return to stadium, IPL 2021 fixtures and status of allowing spectators.

Former India captain and BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] President Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that he has resumed normal routine work after suffering from a cardiac arrest earlier this year.

“Absolutely fine. God’s been kind that it’s was a small blemish. Fit and fine and back to work now. I don’t see it as a scare. As you grow old, adjustments happen. I think I’m lucky that it was a very small one,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.

Since heading the cricket board in India, Ganguly used to frequently visit the stadiums during international fixtures. It was only due to his recent health condition that he was nowhere to be seen during the pink-ball Test match between India and England in Ahmedabad, a match which was the first to be played at the refurbished Narendra Modi Stadium.

“I could not travel then [pink-ball Test] because it was just two weeks out of the hospital and I wasn’t allowed to take a plane. I’ll go to the T20Is. I’ll go to Ahmedabad [either second or third T20I],” Ganguly said.

Ganguly, 48, also lauded the Indian team for doing exceedingly well in their last two Test series. With India set to play New Zealand in the final match of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, Ganguly mentioned that he is looking forward to visiting Southampton for the iconic match.

Sourav Ganguly on whether crowd will be allowed to watch IPL 2021 matches or not

It was as recent as yesterday that BCCI announced the fixtures for the upcoming 14th season of the Indian Premier League. With IPL 2021 set to be played at neutral venues despite the tournament being played in India, Ganguly talked about minimal possible travel for the eight teams as a primary reason behind such fixtures.

“We’ve done it in clusters. There’ll be three flights for every team. Hopefully, we’ll manage. With the England series, India have gone to Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune [for upcoming ODI series]. It’s been good,” Ganguly added.

As of now, there has been no allowance of spectators visiting the stadiums for IPL 2021 matches. With an increase in the COVID-19 cases in the country, the same won’t be an easy decision for BCCI especially after what has happened in the Pakistan Super League.

Being asked about the same, Ganguly hinted at the cricket board playing the “waiting game”. While spectators were allowed at the recently concluded India-England Test series, Ganguly threw light on how allowing fans in a bilateral series is comparatively easy.

“Don’t know yet. Depends on the situation. Dubai was also the same. We started closed doors and then expected to open up to the crowd. Since it went so well, we didn’t want to take the risk. [IPL] Slightly different than a bilateral [series]. If you open up for crowds and there are teams playing in the middle, teams are practicing outside also [on the practice pitches],” Ganguly further said.