India vs England T20Is: Last three T20I between India and England to be played without the crowd.
India vs England T20Is: Third, Fourth and Fifth T20I games between India and England will be played behind closed doors without spectators at Narendra Modi Stadium, confirmed BCCI. The step has been taken after the recent surge in the covid-19 cases in the state. Both BCCI and Gujrat Cricket Association (GCA) are on the same page and the information has been conveyed to England management as well.
The five games T20I series is levelled at 1-1, England won the first game while India avenged the loss in the second. The third of the series will be played on Tuesday in the same venue.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday also confirmed that the One Day International games will also be played without spectators. It will be interesting to see if BCCI allows fans into the stadiums for the forthcoming Indian cricket festival, IPL 2021.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in consultation with the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), has decided to conduct the final three T20Is against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium behind closed doors. The decision was arrived at following detailed discussions with the state and local health authorities,” said a BCCI release.
“The BCCI will continue to comply with all the regulations put in place to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus and will always put the health and safety of its fans and stakeholders at the top,” it added.
According to the data on the website of the Gujrat government, a steady rise in the cases has been seen. The tally of active cases stood at 785 on March 11, while 850 on March 13 and 909 on March 15.
“With deep deliberation with GCA and BCCI officials, we have come to the decision to host the remaining T20I games without fans in the stadium. No crowd will be allowed into the stadium in the remaining three T20I games between India and England,” said GCA vice-president Dhanraj Nathwani.
Dhanraj Nathwani further added that all the people who had brought the tickets will get their complete refund soon and those who have the complimentary tickets are requested not to visit the stadium.
Fans were allowed into the stadium for the previous games in Narendra Modi Stadium. Test matches didn’t see an average of 15,000 fans per day while the T20I games hosted around 55,000 fans. Narendra Modi Stadium has the capacity to host 1,32,000 fans at a time.
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