Mumbai: The last three T20Is of the India-England series will be played in an empty Narendra Modi Stadium due to rising COVID-19 cases, the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) said in a statement Monday night. The third game of the five-match series comes off Tuesday while the fourth and fifth matches will be played March 18 and 20. The decision was taken due to the rising COVID-19 cases in Gujarat and in some other states.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had a discussion with officials of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA). It was 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,” the BCCI said in a release.
“The BCCI will continue to comply with all the regulations put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It will always put the health and safety of its fans and stakeholders at the top,” the cricket body added.
An official who did not want to be named, over 50,000 tickets were sold for the first T20I and more than 65,000 were sold for the second T20I Sunday. This was in accordance with GCA’s initial decision to allow 50 per cent capacity in the 1,32,000-seater venue. But during both the matches social distancing went for a toss. Many spectators were even seen without masks.
“Due to rise in the number of Corona cases, we at GCA have decided that the matches will be played (behind) closed doors. Spectators won’t be allowed in the ground during the last three T20 Internationals at Ahmedabad,” Dhanraj Nathwani, GCA vice-president said.
“We will refund the money to the spectators who have already purchased the tickets for these three T20s. Those who have received complimentary tickets are requested not to visit the stadium,” he added. This comes days after it was decided the ODI series (starting on March 23 in Pune) would be played without spectators.
An England team spokesman said: “Aside from meaning there will be considerably less noise in the stadium it doesn’t materially affect us. We remain in our bubble. Even when crowds were in attendance, we never came into contact with any of them. Also the ball was sanitised whenever it was hit into the stands.”