BCCI postpones start of India’s domestic season due to cyclone alerts in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh
India’s domestic season was set to get underway with the U19 Boys Vinoo Mankad Trophy and U19 Girls One-Day tournament on Tuesday (September 28). However, the first few set of fixtures have been delayed by a couple of days due to a cyclone alert in South Odisha and North Andhra Pradesh coasts. This means the competition has been postponed by two days and will start on September 31.
Heavy rain is expected in Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar, which are among the host cities for the matches along with Indore, Vizag, Surat, Rajkot, and Nagpur. As MET issued a cyclone alert in these two areas, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) came to a decision of postponing the start of the group stage.
“Owing to the incessant rain and the cyclone alert issued by MET, the BCCI is compelled to postpone the start of the group stage from 28.09.2021 to 30.09.2021,” wrote Dhiraj Malhotra, BCCI General Manager-Game Development, in his letter to the seven host associations.
There will be no change to the knockout stage and venue: BCCI GM-Game Development
With the matches getting rescheduled, the rest days of the tournament have been shelved. Hence, all matches will be played back-to-back from September 30 to October 4. “There will be no change to the knockout stage and venue. This decision has been taken to ensure that all the matches are played and there is no loss due to the inclement weather,” he added.
The BCCI official further asserted that players need to get ample amount of opportunities to get in the groove with the Under-19 World Cup taking place next year. “Keeping the upcoming ICC Under 19 World Cup 2022 in mind, we need to ensure that the players get maximum opportunity and exposure to showcase their talent and make an earnest effort to be selected for the country,” he wrote.
For the unversed, the last domestic season came to an abrupt end with the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the Ranji Trophy. Notably, for the very first time in 87 years of history of the tournament, the gala First-Class tournament got cancelled and BCCI would want the upcoming season to go smoothly.
