NEW DELHI: With the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League postponed due to the second wave of COVID-19 in India, all eyes have now shifted to whether the country will be in a position to host the T20 World Cup in October-November or if it needs to be moved to the UAE. Australia pacer Pat Cummins believes it is too early to decide.
In a Sydney Morning Herald report, the Kolkata Knight Riders pacer has said that it is for the cricket authorities to work on it with the Indian government and see what is best for the people.
“It probably too early to say. It’s six months away. The priority should be for cricket authorities to work with the Indian government to see what’s best for the Indian people,” Cummins told the Herald.
“If it’s going to be a drain on resources or it’s not going to be safe, then I don’t think it’s right to play it over here. That’s the first question which needs to be answered.”
Commenting on the COVID-19 situation in India, Cummins said: “I’ve felt quite helpless and quite detached from it all being kept in comfortable hotels. We were playing games and training like every other year. It just felt that I should be doing more for the people around us.
“The first thing I wanted to do was make sure playing the IPL was the right call. Speaking to people back home, some had the view that it didn’t see right cricket was going on over here in amongst all the COVID cases.
“But the response I was getting from people in India was the opposite. They all said that with so many people in lockdown they really appreciate the fact that for three or four hours each night they can watch the IPL. It gives people a routine, it helps to keep them in homes. Everyone thought it was a positive the IPL was still going on.”
And that is when Cummins felt he should do something for the people in India and that saw him go ahead and help. “I wondered what could I do? India has been so good to me for so long as a player. The people are amazing. I wanted to try and help out and give back a little bit.”
In fact, he was the first person to come out and speak about the contribution he made to help the Indian people fight the pandemic.
Coming back to the IPL, Cummins said with the benefit of hindsight, the IPL could have been played in UAE, but there were millions of people who wanted it in India.
“The IPL in the UAE last year was brilliant, it was really well run, but millions of people were saying it should have been played in India, so what do you do? You can see both sides. They set up this tournament with all the best advice,” he pointed. (ANI)
