IPL 2021 should have been played in UAE and not India, says SRH's Wriddhiman Saha

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has opened up on Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 bio-bubble violation in India and said it would have been better if the tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), like in 2020.

Saha was among the few players who contracted the virus before the IPL 2021 was suspended earlier this month after multiple cases were reported in its bio-secure bubble.

"It's the job of the stakeholders to assess it, but the only thing I would say is that there was not a single individual during our training in UAE (last year), not even ground staff. Here there would be people, kids peeping from nearby walls. I don't want to comment much but we saw how the IPL went off smoothly in UAE in 2020 and then it started in India this year with cases on the rise," Saha was quoted by the news agency PTI, as saying.

After completing a fortnight-long quarantine at a hotel in Delhi, Saha reached his home in Kolkata and now has made himself available for the upcoming tour of England.

On being asked about the bio-bubble, the wicketkeeper-batsman said," I don't know what would have happened, but definitely I feel it would have been better off in UAE this time as well. It's for the stakeholders to look into it."

Saha tested positive for COVID-19 on May 4, the day the 14th edition of the tournament was suspended indefinitely. He said he has fully recovered now and he is not feeling any weakness.

"I'm doing all normal activities, there's no fatigue, body ache, or any weakness. But I will actually get to know how my body is coping when I get into actual match training mode. I had a slight fever for the first couple of days, lost smell after five days but it returned within four days. It was about spending time with family, friends (virtually), catching up with some light-hearted movies and keeping myself in a good space. I was never mentally disturbed or down. I was just being normal.

Currently, I'm doing some fitness routine at home but the actual fitness training will start after I join the team in Mumbai," the SRH player further added.