'Playing the IPL was the right call' - Pat Cummins feels that the IPL helped to keep people at home

The Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite the best efforts taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the 2021 IPL season had to be suspended after players from different teams were infected with Covid-19.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) pacer Pat Cummins has stated that he never felt unsafe when he was in India. Cummins further said that the pandemic is huge news in India.

The Australian pacer also added that he felt that he was detached from all the news surrounding the pandemic and was placed in comfortable hotels. Cummins even stated that he should have done more for the people around him.

“Seeing the media from back home, it [India’s pandemic] is huge news, and rightly so given what India is going through, but I’ve never felt unsafe here. I’ve felt quite helpless and quite detached from it all being kept in comfortable hotels. We were playing games and training like every other year. It just felt that I should be doing more for the people around us,” said Pat Cummins as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Playing the IPL was a right call,” says Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins also added that continuing with the 14th edition of the IPL was indeed the right call. Cummins said that even though some people in Australia opined that the IPL should not go on amidst the Covid-19 crisis in India, the people in India were appreciative of the fact that they would get 4 hours every night to watch the IPL.

“The first thing I wanted to do was make sure playing the IPL was the right call. Speaking to people back home, some had the view that it didn’t seem right cricket was going on over here in amongst all the COVID cases. But the response I was getting from people in India was the opposite. They all said that with so many people in lockdown they really appreciate the fact that for three or four hours each night they can watch the IPL,” said Cummins.

Cummins further stated that the IPL gives people a routine and he wanted to help the Indian people by giving them something back in return. The 27-year-old concluded by stating that there were millions of people who felt that the IPL should have been played in India.

“It gives people a routine, it helps to keep them in homes. Everyone thought it was a positive the IPL was still going on. I wondered what could I do? India has been so good to me for so long as a player. The people are amazing. I wanted to try and help out and give back a little bit.

The IPL in the UAE last year was brilliant, it was really well run, but millions of people were saying it should have been played in India, so what do you do? You can see both sides. They set up this tournament with all the best advice,” concluded Cummins.