The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to conduct the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season in September-October this year. Phase two of the tournament is likely to be hosted by UAE, as per a report in the Times of India. IPL 2021 was suspended on May 04 after COVID-19 cases were detected in the bio-bubbles of four teams.
BCCI will take a final call on the venue and the window in the upcoming special general meeting on May 29. The BCCI might request the England Cricket Board (ECB) to tweak the current schedule of the upcoming five-match Test series between India and England to free up a few days for IPL 2021. India and England will play five Tests starting from August 04 with the series set to conclude on September 14.
There is a nine-day gap between the second and the third Test. BCCI might request ECB to reduce the gap to four days and wrap up the series earlier. However, the board has not yet opened discussions with the England Cricket Board in the matter. “If that gap can be reduced to four, it will allow BCCI five extra days to make use of,” sources told TOI.
However, even if BCCI decides to not tweak the schedule of the England Test series, it will have a 30-day window available between September 15 to October 15 to conduct the remaining 31 matches of the IPL 2021 season including the knockouts. Sources indicated that the one-month window will be enough for the BCCI to conclude the tournament.
“If we can have those extra days eked out from the India-England schedule, then it adds to the window. If not, then within these 30 days, a full day will have to be set aside for the Indian team and English cricketers to travel from the UK to UAE, five days will have to be set aside for the knockouts later. That will leave the BCCI with 24 days to conclude 27 matches. This window has four weekends available, which means a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers, that can accommodate 16 matches. That will leave the BCCI with 11 matches to be held in 19 days. That’s a week extra,” sources were quoted by TOI.
However, if ECB agrees to reduce the gap between the first and the second Test, the five days can be used as a cushion ahead of the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to start from October 18. As per sources, the T20 World Cup currently remains in line to be hosted in India and the BCCI has not yet given up on the hopes of conducting the tournament at home despite the pandemic situation in the country.
IPL 2020 was conducted in UAE last year with all matches being played behind closed doors. The tournament had been conducted smoothly and there were no major hiccups.
