Hussain also refused to put the blame on players' shoulders, stating that they must have been uncomfortable with the situation.
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As news of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) suspension broke out, several fans heaved a sigh of relief while others sighed with disappointment. There were questions raised over whether it was the right thing to do to move ahead with the IPL in India when the country’s coronavirus situation was getting out of hand with each passing day.
After the bio-secure bubbles were breached on more occasions than one, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) was left with no choice but to indefinitely suspend the competition for this year. While several fan debates focused on whether the players should have taken the initiative and asked for the tournament’s suspension instead of continuing to play, others believed that like the Premier League in England, the IPL provided a much-needed relief, an escape to several during these trying times.
Former English cricketer Nasser Hussain has shed light on the issue and wrote that the blame must not be put on the players’ shoulders, but on the people who decided to stage the tournament in India instead of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) like last year. However, he also mentioned that at the time the decision was made, India was doing fairly well on the COVID-19 front.
“The players are not stupid nor insensitive. They would have been fully aware of what has been going on in India. They would have seen on their TVs people pleading for hospital beds and oxygen. They would have seen unused ambulances waiting outside cricket grounds and wondered whether it was right for them to carry on playing. And they would have been uncomfortable,” Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail UK.
“The mistake was made in having the tournament in India in the first place. Six months ago they held an IPL in the United Arab Emirates and it went brilliantly. Covid rates were low and no bubbles were compromised. They could have returned there,” he continued.
Furthermore, Hussain commended the England Cricket Board (ECB) for their COVID management when England hosted international matches last summer, a time when the country itself was not on sure footing against the pandemic. He also said that the ICC does not need to make a decision at the moment regarding the venue of the T20 world cup at the moment. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by India in October-November.
