IPL 2021: Sourav Ganguly affirms of Mumbai hosting its share of matches

Sourav Ganguly is the reigning president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India since 2019. The 2021 Indian Premier League will be the 14th edition of the profitable Twenty20 tournament and will be held in India despite the challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

The highly-awaited Indian Premier League 2021 is all set to get underway from April 9. The tournament will be held in India after 2020 was conducted in the United Arab Emirates owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the competition has hit a roadblock, especially in Mumbai, owing to the city's rising COVID cases. As a result, a couple of players training in the city have also tested positive.

Ganguly's take
Consequently, the matches slated to be held in Mumbai were put in doubt, while the imposition of a weekend lockdown also made it a concern. Nonetheless, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Sourav Ganguly, has affirmed that the city would continue to host its share of games. At the same time, the tournament would go ahead as planned and scheduled. "Everything will go on as per schedule," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Affected players
Currently, Delhi Capitals' Axar Patel and Devdutt Paddikal of Royal Challengers Bangalore are the ones to have tested positive for coronavirus, along with eight ground staff at the Wankhede Stadium. In the wake of the same, BCCI is also mulling over getting its players vaccinated at the earliest.

Vaccination
"In order to cope with this Coronavirus rise, I think the only solution is to get vaccinated. BCCI is also thinking on those lines that players should be vaccinated. Nobody knows when coronavirus is going to end and you can't give a deadline that by this time frame, it will not be there so players can play easily. So, I think now will have to think over that. Vaccination should be done for the players also," said BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla.