BCCI Postpones U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy Due To Rising COVID-19 Cases In India
Published - 31 Dec 2021, 12:38 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:02 AM
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have postponed the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country with the threat of a new variant Omicron.
BCCI has been successful in conducting Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20), Women’s Challenger Trophy (ODI) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODI) in the last few months.
U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy is postponed for this season: BCCI secretary Jay Shah
BCCI secretary Jay Shah wrote a letter to state associations to inform them about the postponement of the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy owing to rising COVID-19 cases in India.
“We have been closely monitoring the situation in India and across the world, and it is estimated that the caseload will shoot up in the immediate future if the situation is not controlled now,” Shah wrote in the letter, as reported by news agency IANS.
“After consulting experts and seeking views of the medical teams and operations team, it has been decided that keeping health and safety in mind, the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy is postponed for this season,” he added.
We must exercise caution: Jay Shah
According to Shah, the Indian board took the decision to keep the youngsters safe and not risk their lives.
“We must exercise caution and not be adventurous and put the health of our talented cricketers at grave risk,” Shah mentioned.
“Ahead of the domestic season, we had said that we will endeavour to have a full season across age groups.
“We started off well and are now mid-way into the season having completed 748 matches when we have again encountered a serious issue. The cases across India are spiralling and despite being a large number of adults doubly vaccinated, they have still been infected,” he further wrote.
The Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy was initially scheduled to commence in January. The Ranji Trophy, which was scrapped last year, will begin on January 13. The Indian board is yet to take a call on Ranji Trophy.
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