Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 30: The BCCI postponed Vijay Merchant Trophy for Inter-State Under-16 Cricket Championship amid the fears of a third wave due to Omicron variant of COVID-19, here today.
The Vijay Merchant Trophy was scheduled to begin at various venues on January 9 which has been postponed by the BCCI by citing lack of vaccinations among players.
“The cases across India are spiralling and despite being a large number of adults doubly vaccinated, they have still been infected. We have been closely monitoring the situation in India and across the world, and it is estimated that the caseload will shoot up in the immediate future if the situation is not controlled now,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah in a letter to all affiliated units of the BCCI.
“The primary reason is that the participants are still not vaccinated and as such, are vulnerable. We must exercise caution and not be adventurous and put the health of our talented cricketers at grave risk,” Shah stated.
This will be the second successive season that the pandemic has forced the tournament’s suspension.
The JKCA Member Administration, Brig. (Retd) Anil Gupta hailed the decision of BCCI over the postponement of the trophy and termed it as pragmatic decision which shows that the lives and health of the youngsters who are our cricketing future matter deeply for the BCCI.
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