Legendary Pakistani spinner Shoaib Akhtar has come out in support of the suspension of IPL 2021. On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the suspension of IPL 2021 because of the rising number of cases within the bio-bubble.
UPDATE: The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season with immediate effect.
Details – https://t.co/OgYXPj9FQy pic.twitter.com/lYmjBId8gL
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 4, 2021
Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar took to his twitter and shared a video, where he reminded everyone of his appeal, which he made to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to halt the IPL that continued while India was battling with the worst second wave of Coronavirus pandemic.
The video which Akhtar is talking about dates back to about less than a couple of weeks, where he pleaded not just the BCCI but also to the Pakistan Cricket Board to not continue with their plans for Pakistan Super League 2021 in Karachi. Talking about the same, Shoaib Akhtar said:
“The IPL was never viable. We made a bio-secure bubble in the PSL and it completely flopped. India tried and the same thing happened there. In UAE and England, we would have had it. Over here, even people working in hotels are not safe. They don’t remain in a bio-secure bubble. International cricket can take place in a bubble, but not franchise cricket because the entire world comes. The IPL is not a small event,”
It was just a few days ago, when Shoaib Akhtar had asked for the tournament to be called off, pointing at the crippling situation in the country. Further Shoaib Akhtar reiterated that his advice to call off IPL 2021 came straight from the heart since India has been grappling with a large number of deaths and new cases everyday. He said:
“I didn’t have a problem with people not making money. People have been making money since 2008. If they don’t make money for a year, what trouble will they get into? People are dying and you cannot have pomp and show. It’s a national disaster. So as a neighbour, I was requesting that the IPL should be stopped,”
He added:
“When I said a couple of weeks ago that the IPL should stop this year, there were emotions behind it. And it was that there is a national catastrophe that is taking place in India. People are dying. I appealed because 4 lakh cases were being reported a day. During such times, the IPL cannot take place, the pomp and show cannot take place,”
Here, watch the video:
IPL canceled. I saw it coming & suggested that two weeks ago. Nothing more important than saving human lives during current covid crisis in India.
Full video: https://t.co/pl0sRdIcSU#Ipl #IndianPremierLeague pic.twitter.com/MRrzacKuNX
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) May 4, 2021
Meanwhile multiple reports suggest that the BCCI is looking at a September window to finish the remaining games of the now suspended IPL 2021.
