Gaekwad: To pull off such a big tournament smoothly is no joke

Anshuman Gaekwad

Despite the Covid-19 cloud hovering over IPL-15 throughout the two-month tournament, the BCCI managed to pull it off for the first time in two years. In 2020, the tournament had to be shifted to the UAE. Last year, the IPL was played in two parts after the pandemic caused havoc in the first half, following which action shifted to the gulf. BCCI's Apex Council member Anshuman Gaekwad, who was involved in the organising of IPL-15, was proud that the tournament was conducted successfully.

Seventy league games were held in Maharashtra at Pune's MCA Stadium, Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, DY Patil Stadium and the Brabourne Stadium. The Qualifier-1 and Eliminator were played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens, while Qualifier-2 and final were held at the Narendra Modi Stadium here.

Making his way to the VIP zone, a relieved Gaekwad said: "It's incredible, because of the conditions and the way things have gone. To pull off such a big tournament smoothly is no joke. I would like to give credit to BCCI officials - president [Sourav Ganguly], secretary [Jay Shah], the office-bearers and their teams. They worked so hard. I was partially involved in this [organising].

Whatever I have seen, it is not easy to conduct such a big event so successfully. It's an amazing effort," Gaekwad told mid-day on Sunday. The former India batsman and coach also lauded BCCI's swift approach when the Delhi Capitals camp was hit by Covid. "When it was decided to conduct the tournament, it was expected that there would be stray cases.

I was talking to the doctor in-charge and he said we are ready with all the possibilities and to treat the people. If there is swift, immediate action, there is no need to worry about the matches or the teams getting affected," said Gaekwad.