Politicians alone do not suffer from myopia: it appears that the members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India share their affliction. The cricket board’s short-sightedness has been evident in the timing and the organization of the now-suspended 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. Sport and politics mix well in India. Is that why the BCCI’s bunglings mirror the Centre’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis in the country? The postponement of the IPL on account of several players testing positive is indicative of serious lapses on the part of the apex cricketing body in the management of a tournament that attracts players from all over the world. The decision to host the competition across a large country that would involve considerable travelling was erroneous. Two players and the coach of one team were reported to have contracted the virus while travelling through an airport terminus. The bio-secure bubble was not secure enough either; the BCCI should have selected a firm with expertise in keeping bio-bubbles safe instead of relying on less efficient resources. It must be asked why Restrata, the professional company responsible for tracking devices and offering bio-secure solutions that managed the IPL last year in the United Arab Emirates, was not employed to do the same in 2021. This year, hospital vendors and testing laboratories were given the task of ensuring bio-security even though the board is known to have deep pockets. Questions have also been raised over testing and quarantine protocols for essential workers outside the bubble, including groundsmen, net bowlers and drivers, most of whom kept changing across cities.

The failure to keep the IPL safe from the virus is all the more embarrassing for the BCCI because sport tournaments have been conducted smoothly in other corners of the world. There is also the case of the BCCI’s sensibilities. The decision to host an extravaganza — a non-essential service — at a time of unprecedented death and suffering speaks of lopsided priorities. Morality has been sacrificed at the altar of commerce. Another question cannot be avoided altogether: was there an attempt to use the IPL as a smokescreen by the powers that be to deflect attention from their own failure to save the nation from disease and death?