With government lifting restrictions in phased manner amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also started the process of developing Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) needed to be followed once cricketing activities resume in the country.
All cricketing activities have been on a standstill since March following the outbreak of novel coronavirus which has so far claimed more than 8000 lives in the country.
BCCI GM Cricket Operations Saba Karim said the SOPs will be made by the office bearers keeping in mind the travel and health advisories issued by the government in the times to come.
“We are planning and working on the SOP. It all depends on the travel and the health advisories. We have not shared any circular as of now. And it will be done by the management and the BCCI officer bearers in due course of time,” Karim told IANS.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has also written to president/secretaries of all affiliated members of the board in which he said that they are in the process of developing a COVID-19 SOP taking the help of medical specialists.
“The COVID-19 virus is highly contagious and BCCI has taken cognisance of the same. The BCCI is in the process of developing a COVID-19 Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for all state cricket associations,” Ganguly wrote in his letter, in possession of IANS.
“Essentially this SOP is being made with a view of providing our members with a standard set of guidelines which will help the associations to resume cricket in their respective areas. The BCCI has engaged medical specialists for the drafting of this SOP,” he added.
All other sporting federations in the country had come out with the respective SOPs when the government eased out restrictions and allowed training under Lockdown 4 on May 17.