New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham said he doesn’t think the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League will happen in India this year, after the tournament got postponed due to Covid-19 cases inside the bio-bubble.
He also has serious doubts whether India would be able to host the 16-team T20 World Cup later this year.
“If it did start up again, I doubt the IPL would be in India again,” said Neesham told Newshub.
“I think we’ve already seen plans for the T20 World Cup to move out of India later in the year and they’re going to be ultra-cautious about that sort of thing,” said Neesham, who was playing for Mumbai Indians in the now suspended league.
Neesham feels the bio-security lapses could be due to the fact that the teams were travelling across the country.
“Even though we were flying on chartered planes, we have to go through customs, hand your details over to people, walk through terminals, so there were always going to be pinch-points there,” he said.
Neesham said that it is difficult to point out how the bubble was breached.
“We obviously don’t know yet exactly how teams were infiltrated, but... it’s such a difficult prospect to keep everything perfect and when you’ve got so many guys that are close to each other, there are going to be social interactions after games. Once one team has it, you start looking back through your last week at who you talked to and who you shook hands with. It certainly gets your mind racing.”
However Neesham isn’t averse to the idea of going back to India again and playing the IPL if it resumes.
“For me, I signed up for the IPL knowing what it might be like. I felt like it was an obligation - I made the commitment to go and never had any thoughts of pulling out individually before the tournament finished,” he said,
“Guys will have different opinions on that, but it’s my job, I’m a professional and you have plenty of times you tour countries you’re not that keen on going to, but it’s about getting on the field and getting the job done.
“I would sign up again, especially once vaccinations start rolling out. I don’t think anyone really predicted how quickly it would all come crashing down over there and how quickly we would be on the first plane out.”
The IPL was suspended last Tuesday after four players and two coaches from four different teams tested positive for the dreaded disease within a space of 48 hours.
With PTI Inputs
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!