ARUN DHUMAL (IMAGE CREDIT: BCCI/IPL) New Delhi: With the continuation of the IPL after an eight -day stop due to the IPL tension, ARUN DHUMAL spoke to Toi about how Dharamshale took place on May, the logistics challenges for restoring, the availability of the player and how he became trade in two days. Excerpts … How difficult was the decision to stop IPL when it was so close to its completion? We had to be very sensitive in this matter. The safety and security of each person in the IPL ecosystem was paramount. However, there was no threat to IPL. The league stop was a purely preventive measure. There are some times when you have to respect the sentiment of the nation. That was the time when the nation had to become with the armed forces. You said there is no threat, but you have to evacuate the stadium in Dharamshale. Could you take us that evening? We have received some reports from the nearby district administration. There was some movement in Pathankot. We have fans coming from Pathankot and Jammu to Dharamshaly to watch the matches. We did not want the people who came there to take care of what was happening in their hometown. Panic fans were the last thing we wanted. Therefore, we did not use people in uniforms to evacuate the situation. I went to the ground and explained the situation to the fans. One has to appreciate fans for understanding and adherence to the protocol. How did you prepare for the league restore so quickly?
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It certainly had logistics challenges. When we stopped IPL, there was so much uncertainty. We didn’t know when we would restart. The players returned. But we sat with all the parties involved and we were winging the B Plan. We also had to take into account that the monsoon came at the beginning of this year. We had to make sure we had no games as soon as we continued. Therefore, the places have changed. BCCI has successfully operated IPL for 17 years. We saw Covid times and it helps. That was just a blow. This is the beauty of sport – after each autumn you climb. Was IPL later in the year that was discussed that things could settle down a little more? When we stopped, it was a possibility. We discussed the situation with franchise, sponsors and transmitters. It was decided that it was best to close the league itself. The international calendar is packed for our players. Foreign players also have many obligations. How important is the renewal for the IPL brand that BCCI is trying to promote globally? India is one of the safest countries for tourists. In two days it happened as usual. There were only a few pockets. We are looking forward to organizing the World Women’s World Cup at the end of this year along with other international accessories in addition to the T20 World Championship at the beginning of next year. It is difficult to calculate the Asia Cup because it is usually played outside India. There were problems with the availability of the player … We understand that there are other obligations. There are players who have national commitments. We dealt with this bit because we go a week for the original schedule. It’s your own challenge. But most players came back and I am sure the quality of the league will be maintained. There is no pressure to participate. All players and albums share good relations with BCCi and franchises. Pressure players will not produce quality cricket. There are reports of cricket South Africa (CSA), who do not want to resign from the initial night to the players (until 26 May). We are discussing it with CSA. Have the final of the World Championship since June 11th. They qualified for the first time. It’s very important to them. We asked them to leave players who are not selected to stay back and leave players who are willing to stay back for the whole tournament.
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