IPL: Lack of practice options in Delhi, Ahmedabad may have led to breach

The Indian cricket boards decision to host the second phase of the Indian Premier League IPL matches in cities with no alternate T20specific practice facilities may have caused the breach in Covid protocols it has emergedDelhi and Ahmedabad cities with rapidly increasing Covid cases hosted the second phase and the positive cases among players and staff that led to the postponement of the tournament emerged during matches in those cities Besides the two cities struggled for alternate practice facilities for teamsThere is a belief within many Board of Control for Cricket of India BCCI and state officials that the decision to take the second phase to Delhi and Ahmedabad was wrong There were four teams in each city and except for the main ground which is an internationallevel facility and hosted matches the alternate facilities meant for practice were open to exposure to Covid19 an official in the know of things told IANSWhile in Delhi teams like the Chennai Super Kings used the Roshanara Club grounds for practice those in Ahmedabad were forced to use Gujarat College groundBoth venues are in congested or old parts of the city The practice facility at the Motera ground in Ahmedabad has another problem Since the construction of annexe grounds and full facilities isnt complete the available facility is not suited to practice big shots needed in T20 cricketThe problem with the newlybuilt Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera is that the adjoining grounds and facilities are still under construction While it will be a stateoftheart facility with multiple grounds it is not yet completed The teams cant use the current practice nets as it is not suitable for big hitting needed during T20 practice It is okay for Test matches or firstclass cricket practice said the officialSo taking players to Gujarat College ground was fraught with risk as there are so many people like the maalis gardeners security guard and others It was easy to get infected he pointed out As many as three teams including the worstaffected Kolkata Knight Riders KKR practiced there Four KKR players tested positiveDelhis Roshanara Club where the BCCI was founded over 90 years ago is in the middle of a thickly populated area and one has to make way through crowded streets to reach thereThe Roshanara Club in Delhi is also a club which is not suited for practice for IPL franchise Besides you have local staff that can easily infect the players or staff said the officialDelhi has two Palam grounds which are spacious and secure away from the city as well There might have been issues with some aspects of the facilities there although it has hosted international teams practice in the past Closer to the IPL teams hotels is Jamia Milla Islamia ground which is secure and has excellent dressing rooms though the pitches could be an issue thereShifting the tournament to Delhi and Ahmedabad opened the tournament to Covid19 exposure the official saidThe third IPL phase was to be held in Kolkata and Bengaluru Even though Bangalore is facing a huge Covid19 threat it has some good facilities for practice Besides the Chinnaswamy Stadium where the matches were to be hosted it has multiple grounds in Alur on the citys outskirtsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever