Cricket operations team and NCA staff working on resumption of camp, reveals Arun Dhumal
India is in a lockdown for over two months now
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BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal has stated that the BCCI Cricket Operations team and National Cricket Academy are working on chalking out a process for the resumption of training activities. Meanwhile, Dhumal advised the cricketers to coordinate with the state board to start a partial training regime.
Ever since the first ODI between India and South Africa was cancelled due to heavy rain in Dharamsala, the Indian team hasn’t had a practise session, with the nation being under lockdown in their battle against the coronavirus pandemic. However, with the government opening up avenues to restart the economy, sports might make a comeback to our TV screens and the practice sessions for the same is also expected to begin soon.
Arun Dhumal, giving an idea about it, stated that the BCCI Cricket operations team and NCA staff are working on feasible solutions and will detail out a plan accordingly. However, he added that different states have different measures as far as lockdown rules are concerned - something that will be taken into consideration when the plan is made official.
“The (resumption of) national camp is under review with the cricket operations team and NCA staff working out the possibility to have it as soon as possible. Different states are taking different measures (with regards to relaxation on lockdown), so we will take a call accordingly. Everybody (players) comes from one or the other state. They can coordinate with their respective state association and train till the time it is safe for the entire team to get together,” Dhumal told PTI.
While England and Wales Cricket Board have resumed their training programs in patches, with a list of 55 players partaking in it, in Australia, David Warner and Steve Smith attended a practice session of New South Wales on Monday. For India, being such a vast country, a lot of things need to fall in place before the training can happen and Dhumal stated that the BCCI is exploring all options.
“The flights have just started. We will see the progress with regards to the flight situation and take them to a safe location where we are 100 percent sure of their safety then we can organise that. We are looking into that. It is difficult to put a time frame to it.”
The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, and Prithvi Shaw are stuck in Mumbai, where Covid-19 cases are increasing exponentially. Dhumal stated that the BCCI will try to get them to a safe location before letting them practise.
“They can be moved out to a safe location and from there they can join the camp as and when it happens. As I said, we are looking at all the options,” the BCCI treasurer added.
