The Covid-19 has taken its toll once again on the Indian domestic cricket circuit as Cooch Behar Trophy, a four-day U-19 tournament has now been postponed during its knockout stage. The news comes as a blow to the cricketing fraternity after the postponement of other domestic competitions like Ranji Trophy, CK Nayudu Trophy and senior Women's T20 league. 57 members from the camp were tested positive for Covid-19 including players, support staff, officials and ground staff.
In a letter from Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah accessed by Sports Tak, the board has acted to temporarily call off the tournament after health and safety were given priority by the board.
The statement read, “I hope you and your family members are healthy and safe.
“I thank you for your understanding and for supporting us in our decision to postpone the domestic tournaments in view of the rising COVID-19 cases across India.
“As estimated, the caseload shot up immediately. I believe a timely call was taken and it will help us curb the spread of the new variant, which is far more infectious.
“At the time, it was decided that Cooch Behar Trophy, which had already started can continue as we had successfully completed the league stage involving 93 matches across 20 venues. We were set for the knockout stage in Pune with quarterfinals from tomorrow but with just 7 matches left in the tournament, the virus has raised its head again. Unfortunately, there have been COVID-19 cases within the team environment, and we are now forced to postpone the knockout stage, keeping the health and safety of everyone concerned.
Once the caseload again goes down and the situation improves, we will lock in a new window and resume the knockout leg of the tournament.”
The four-day knock-out U-19 tournament had eight teams participating from different states. The competition was set to be staged in Pune, but now the official verdict has announced that the competition will be put on hold. Mumbai, Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Bengal were due to participate in the tournament, scheduled to start on Tuesday (January 11).
