U19 World Cup 2022: Seven Indian players were asked to return back for not being vaccinated

“Winning against all odds”, that’s what the India U19 team did in the recently concluded World Cup where the side was crowned champions. This was the fifth occasion when the young boys had won an U19 World Cup for India with skipper Yash Dhull joining the elite club which has Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw. 

The conclusion of the tournament had brought glory but the beginning had been a horrific one for the side. From the players being asked to return back to India because they were not vaccinated to the Covid-19 outbreak within the contingent, the team suffered it all. 

"After we landed at Port-of-Spain, we had to take a charter flight to Guyana but seven of our boys were stopped as they were not vaccinated. We tried to explain to the immigration officials that India had not started their vaccination yet but they instructed us to take the next flight out of the country," Lobzang G. Tenzing, who heads the Sikkim Cricket Association, told PTI.

"We were surrounded by security guys of the airlines as if we would run away from there. And as the argument was on with airline and immigration officials, the only Lufthansa flight available had departed and the next one was after three days. That gave us time to negotiate with local authorities.”

"I decided to stay with the boys and we had to stay in a shady hotel near the airport for the night. It was only after the intervention of ICC and local government the matter could be resolved. It was quite a harrowing experience for the boys," he recalled.

Tenzing further explained the problems that they faced after him and the logistics manager were also infected and lashed out at the authorities for being “lethargic”. 

"In all probability, our SLO caught the virus on the way to the Caribbean from Dubai where we were playing the Asia Cup. And gradually it spread in the camp.”

"The RTPCR test results would take as long as 48 hours and that contributed to the problem," said the Sikkim cricket chief.

"Tournament bio-bubble was a joke, the authorities were lethargic"

He made shocking revelations that there was no medical aid provided to them and there was no one to monitor the isolation period. 

"Our time in Guyana was tough, to say the least. When I and my colleagues were down with COVID, no medical help was provided, no doctor, no medicine. Our team physio came to our rescue. It was like a system failure,” he said. 

"In the hotel we stayed there were no separate floors for teams. We were staying on the same floor as the other hotel guests. There was nobody to man the isolation period. The rooms did not have regular running water and players faced food issues.”

"Luckily, a few Indian restaurants close by helped us on that front. During practice games, the stadium had no water in the washrooms. I can safely say we, state units and the BCCI do a much better job staging domestic events in a bio-secure environment," added Tenzing.