Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his displeasure at the Board of Control of Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to hold the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Mohali behind closed doors. The match scheduled to start on March 5 at the PCA Stadium in Mohali will be Virat Kohli’s 100th Test match if he plays. The BCCI owing to increase in number of Covid-19 cases around the city had decided to hold the match without any spectators.
“Any game that you play, you want the crowd to be there. India has played without any crowds in recent times. Any performer, be it an actor, be it a cricketer, wants to play in front of the crowd. The 100th Test is very very special. Disappointing that there is going to be no crowd, but I think the decision has been taken in the greater interest. The cases have increased in and around Mohali, where the match is going to be played,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Today.
It is just not Gavaskar who was unhappy with BCCI’s decision, a section of cricket fans too is not happy with BCCI. Interestingly, in the recently completed T20I series against Sri Lanka, spectators were allowed in Dharamsala. Even the second Test match against the Island nation, which will be played in Bengaluru will allow 50% of spectators inside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
On Saturday, while announcing the decision, the BCCI had reasoned that after the series, most of the Indian players will be linking up with their respective IPL squads in a bubble-to bubble transfer.
“Still there are fresh COVID cases emerging in and around Mohali, so it’s better we take all safety protocols. Obviously, the fans miss out because an international match at Mohali is happening after almost three years,” Singla added.
