Will IPL 2021 be postponed: What will happen to IPL 2021 after KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier test positive for COVID-19?

Dixit Bhargav
|Published May 03, 2021

Will IPL 2021 be postponed: The biggest T20 competition has started to feel the threat possessed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League has faced the wrath of the COVID-19 pandemic after a couple of players and three non-playing individuals have contacted the virus.

Apart from Kolkata Knight Riders bowling pair of Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji and a bus driver have tested positive for COVID-19.

Chakravarthy, 29, has picked seven wickets in as many matches for KKR at an average of 31.28, an economy rate of 7.82 and a strike rate of 24 this season. Warrier, on the other hand, was yet to play a match this season.

Additionally, it has also been reported that Knight Riders’ Australian pair of Pat Cummins and Ben Cutting have also been self-isolated in a precautionary measure.

As a result, tonight’s match between Knight Riders and Royals Challengers Bangalore in Ahmedabad has been postponed. Having said that, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) are yet to share a new date for the league match.

Will IPL 2021 be postponed?

A similar scenario had occurred in the sixth season of the Pakistan Super League earlier this year when a match had to be postponed after reported positive cases. What followed was the whole tournament being brought to a halt as it delayed for months and will resume next month.

As far as IPL 2021 is concerned, the cash-rich league will continue to operate as per the original plan as of now. Writing anything which isn’t official will be nothing but mere speculations at this point in time.

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While KKR players will be tested on a daily basis from now on, other teams in Ahmedabad will also be strictly monitored in a bid to ensure that the optimum safety of everyone involved in the bio-secure bubble.

Considering that the situation worsens in Ahmedabad, the BCCI might look at bringing their two standby venues namely Hyderabad and Indore into action. In what is easier said than done, it wouldn’t be possible without further delays.

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About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who is currently into his fifth year as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. His first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.