Coronavirus pandemic: Cricket Association of Bengal closes office for five days, asks employees to work from home

Kolkata: The Cricket Association of Bengal on Tuesday closed its office for five days and the employees were asked to work from home in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In their general advisory, CAB secretary Debabrata Das said: “It is for restricting the people movement in the office. Therefore, the office of the Association will remain closed from Tuesday to Saturday as a precautionary measure against the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

“However, it is clarified that managers and functional heads can take a decision to get employees to report to the office as per work exigency/priorities.”

“During this period, it would be work from home which implies that the employees must be available on phone calls, emails and any other mode of communication during working hours,” Das said.

The BCCI has already shut down its headquarter in Mumbai and employees have been given the option to “work from home” with all the cricketing operations already being suspended till further notice.

“The COVID-19 is a pandemic, and in line with advisories and directives from the WHO, both the Central Government and Government of West Bengal, we are taking precautionary measures to secure the safety and well being of members of our staff. We look forward to support from all. Take care and stay safe,” Cricket Association of Bengal president Avishek Dalmiya said in a statement.

The coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc in global sporting calendar as all major tournaments are either postponed or cancelled.

In India, the three-match ODI series against South Africa was postponed while there’s a cloud of uncertainty over the lucrative IPL T20 which has already been suspended till 15 April.