James Pamment says he 'felt safe' in IPL bio-bubble: 'Never felt it would be compromised'

Mumbai Indians (MI) fielding coach James Pamment has revealed that some of the "senior Indian guys" in the team were hesitant of following COVID-19 restrictions as they "don't like being told what to do". Pamment, who arrived in New Zealand last week, told the stuff.co.nz that he never felt compromised inside the IPL bio-bubble that was created by the management, but added "the travel was always going to be a challenge". The 52-year-old said the foreign recruits, including the Kiwis, were "very confident" in the franchise's management until Chennai Super Kings (CSK) announced their cases. Mumbai Indians had played CSK on May 1, two days before IPL franchises started reporting COVID cases. 

"Some of the senior Indian guys don't like being restricted and told what to do, but we did feel safe – at no point did we feel the bubble would be compromised, the challenge was the travel. But we started to get Indian guys in our environment whose families were very sick. There were bereavements as well and we were taking a bit of a cue from those guys who were saying 'no, we want to carry on' and the messages were coming back that this is a good distraction. And it is an Indian league, run by Indian people for the Indian audience in the main and we're just fortunate to be there to be providing our professional services," Pamment told stuff.co.nz.

Pamment slams GCA

Pamment further slammed the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) and the BCCI for allowing more than 70,000 spectators inside the newly-constructed Narendra Modi stadium during the white-ball series between India and England. Pamment said that was a little "irresponsible" on part of the organisers and that people shouldn't have been allowed to congregate for a cricket match because the city subsequently went on to become one of the hotspots for COVID-19 in India. 

"When England toured, there were some games behind closed doors, then they felt compelled to open them in Ahmedabad to the extent they allowed 70,000 people in that new stadium. From my perspective, that was a little irresponsible, and now Ahmedabad is a hot-bed of Covid," Pamment said. 

Pamment, however, praised the management for quickly arranging private planes for foreign recruits. Pamment arrived in New Zealand on Saturday, May 8, along with other Kiwis from the Mumbai camp, including James Neesham, Trent Boult, and Adam Milne. Meanwhile, other Kiwi players, who were part of IPL 2021, have been flown to the Maldives, from where they will leave for England to take part in the inaugural edition of the WTC final against India next month. New Zealand is also slated to play a Test series against England prior to the WTC final. 

(Image Credit: IPL/PTI)