New Delhi: As the nation is gearing up to battle a plausible covid third wave amid Omicron variant threat, the premier domestic cricket tournament Ranji Trophy is also threatened by the coronavirus.
This year the Ranji Trophy 201-22 season is to start from January 13. But 10 days ahead of the schedule, coronavirus threat looms large over the domestic cricket tournament.
In view of the current pandemic situation, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) arranged a covid test for players, in which the RT-PCR reports of many players have turned out to be positive.
Bengal was scheduled to play against Tripura in Round 1, Elite Group B on January 13, 2022.
Given the current situation, a source confirms that BCCI can meet before the start of the Ranji Trophy season to discuss the schedule in view of the pandemic.
BCCI Clearing Dues After Curtailed Domestic Season
Meanwhile, BCCI recently started clearing the long-standing dues of the domestic cricketers who suffered financially after the 2020-21 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"BCCI has started clearing the compensation amount due for not having the red ball tournament last season," a senior BCCI official told PTI.
In September, BCCI had said that the cricketers who participated in the 2019-20 season will be getting 50 percent match fees as compensation for the 2020-21 season.
"The process is for state units to raise the invoice based on all those who had played in the season prior to COVID-19. The state units that raised invoices to BCCI have already had its players receiving money in their accounts," the BCCI official said.
"Some state units are yet to raise invoices so their players are waiting."