IPL organisers reject criticism, say cricket lifts COVID gloom

India cricket board has been accused of being ‘tone-deaf’ as it continues with tournament amid a national health crisis.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will continue as scheduled, a senior Indian cricket board official has told Reuters news agency, despite fierce criticism of the popular Twenty20 competition being played in the midst of a national health crisis. India’s death toll surged past 200,000 on Wednesday and at least 300,000 people a day have tested positive for the virus over the last week as a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic grips the world’s second-most populous nation. In a fevered social media debate over whether the IPL show should go on, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been accused of being “tone-deaf” for its stance.