Knockout stage of Cooch Behar Trophy postponed due to surge in COVID-19 cases

New Delhi [India], January 10 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday postponed the knockout stages of the Cooch Behar Trophy for U-19 cricketers.
The matches were set to get underway from Tuesday, January 11 in Pune but looking at the surge in COVID-19 cases, the knockout stages have been postponed.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced the postponement of the knockout stage matches of the Cooch Behar Trophy following some positive COVID-19 cases within the team environment," stated an official release.
"Keeping everyone's health and safety in mind, the knockout matches to be held in Pune have been put on hold until further notice. The BCCI had conducted 93 matches across 20 venues in the league stage. The Board will continue to monitor the situation and identify a new window once the situation improves," it added.
India reported 1,79,723 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the daily positivity rate in the country to 13.29 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.
A total of 4,033 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been reported so far. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases (1,216), followed by Rajasthan (529) and Delhi (513).
Last week, the BCCI had announced the postponement of the Ranji Trophy, Col C K Nayudu Trophy, and Senior Women's T20 League for the 2021-22 season in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
The Ranji Trophy and Col C K Nayudu Trophy were scheduled to begin this month while the Senior Women's T20 League was scheduled to commence in February. (ANI)