In Covid-wrecked Mumbai, IPL remains immune; Players allowed practice sessions

At a time when Mumbai is one of the worst cities affected by the second wave of coronavirus, the Maharashtra government has cleared the way for IPL matches to take place in the city. Mumbai, which is contributing majorly to the active corona cases in the country, will have IPL matches as scheduled earlier. This questionable decision was made a day after CM Uddhav Thackeray initiated stricter restrictions and weekend lockdowns in the state.

Despite the night curfew that has been imposed for weekdays from 8 pm to 6 am and complete weekend lockdowns, the players have been given permission to practise at Wankhede stadium from 8 pm and then go back to their respective rooms in their respective hotels. Social media has been questioning Maharashtra government's "Break the Chain" initiative and how IPL remains immune from it.

No night curfew or section 144

Apart from the night curfew, section 144 has also been imposed in the state till April 30, 2021. The IPL is scheduled to start from April 9, 2021. In the last five days of the month of April, many A-listers have also tested positive for the coronavirus. Alia Bhatt, Sachin Tendulkar, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar have tested positive. However, Maharashtra govt's confidence in IPL players who have been asked to adhere to "strict bio-bubble" rule remains unanswered.

Maharashtra continues to add massive new coronavirus cases

Apart from the Maharashtra govt, one must applaud BCCI too for taking such leap of faith. "Considering the match-timings, teams practicing at the CCI and MCA are scheduled to practice in 2 sessions from 4pm to 6.30pm and 7.30pm to 10pm," Under Secretary of the Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation department wrote to BCCI.

As the city recorded 11,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and 9,879 new cases on Monday. Mumbai's Wankhede stadium is scheduled to host 10 matches of the IPL.