In the Test series between India and England in February, 50 percent of fans were allowed at the renovated Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera Ahmedabad, which hosted the third and fourth Tests of the series and now, as the Indian Premier League (2021) has been postponed, Mumbai Indians (MI) fielding coach James Pamment has reckoned that allowing spectators was “irresponsible” and may have led to Ahmedabad becoming a Covid hotspot at the moment.
Significantly, although the first Test in Chennai was played behind closed doors, 50 percent fans were allowed for the second game in the same venue and the same capacity of attendence was allowed at Motera.
Now when the lucrative league’s 14th season got indefinately postponed as several Covid cases surface inside the tournament’s secured bio-bubble, Pamment said after arriving in his country: : “I wasn’t in a bubble in that early period – there was a little bit more interaction in public spaces, there were some political rallies, it was wedding season, they have a few religious festivals around that period and there was just so many mass gatherings that you thought they are running the risk here of allowing it to escalate.”
“There was so much interaction going on in the community,” he was quoted a saying by stuff.co.nz.
“When England toured, there were some games behind closed doors, then they felt compelled to open them in Ahmedabad to the extent they allowed 70,000 people in that new stadium. From my perspective, that was a little irresponsible, and now Ahmedabad is a hot-bed of Covid,” the MI fielding coach conlcuded.