Shardul Thakur’s decision to train outdoors during the fourth phase of lockdown could very see him landing in trouble. As per a report in The Mumbai Mirror, Thakur, along with three other cricketers, will be questioned by Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for resuming training during the lockdown. The government’s guidelines allow players to train at the stadiums behind the closed doors but the apex board (BCCI) hasn’t resumed training yet.
Palghar, the district where Thakur trained, is a non-red zone but as mentioned, the board hasn’t allowed any player to train outdoors. The report also adds that action will be initiated against the players. Maharashtra, the state which Thakur lives in, is one of the worst-hit states with coronavirus. The state has witnessed more than 60000 cases of COVID-19 patients.
Thakur, who has played one Test, 11 ODIs and 15 T20Is, is in focus because he is a centrally contracted player. Thakur was offered a Grade C contract by BCCI and has a salary of Rs 1 crore. Being a contracted player, he should have followed BCCI’s guidelines but he decided to train on his own, the reason why the board was miffed with the pacer as soon as the news came out.
The board doesn’t have any plans to resume training for now. BCCI’s first job will be to assemble players at a safe venue where they can start training. Players will need at least one to two months to be fully fit to make their return to the highest level. Since the BCCI plans to stage IPL 13 in the last quarter of the year, expect the board to come up with a notification regarding ‘training’ in the next couple of months.
