The remaining part of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) is most likely to be played in September-October before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, according to the new plans of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The IPL 2021 was suspended in the middle of the season due to various COVID-19 cases in the teams, and now, according to a TOI article, the BCCI has devised a schedule to play the rest of the season in the UAE in a one-month timeframe between September 15 and October 15.
Notably, Team India will begin its tour of England on June 18 when it takes on New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Test Championship. Following that, Virat Kohli and company will face England in a five-match Test series beginning August 4.
The tour ends on September 14, giving BCCI a plausible time frame of September 15 to October 15.
Meanwhile, the BCCI is currently in talks with the ECB to shorten the nine-day break between the second and third Tests of India’s series against England. The second Test begins on August 12-16, followed by the third on August 25.
And if that does not happen, the BCCI will have a 30-day window to play the remaining 31 IPL 2021 matches, with eight double-headers spread over four weekends.
“If we are unable to minimise the difference, a full day will have to be set aside within these 30 days for the Indian team and English cricketers to fly from the UK to the UAE, and five days will have to be set aside for the knockouts later. The BCCI would then have 24 days to complete the remaining 27 matches. This window has four weekends open, giving a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers with a capacity of 16 matches. That leaves the BCCI with 11 matches to play in 19 days. Sources.
Furthermore, the BCCI claims that the IPL would act as a “right forum” for the build-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which India is set to host beginning in the second half of October 2021.
“In reality, the IPL would be an excellent warm-up for the ICC case. The ICC is keeping a close eye on this situation and will not mess with the logistics as long as it does not interfere with the World Cup window,” the source added.
It is worth noting that the BCCI will finalise the window to complete the remainder of the IPL 2021 during its upcoming Special General Meeting on May 29.
According to sources, the BCCI prefers to hold the remainder of the IPL 2021 in the UAE rather than the UK for a variety of reasons.
To begin with, the UK is likely to experience monsoon during the months of September and October, which could derail the tournament if it is held there. The weather in the UAE, on the other hand, is hot in September but starts to cool down by the end of the month, as was seen during the IPL last year.
Furthermore, if BCCI decides to host IPL 2021 in UAE, they will escape various logistical issues since the tournament was effectively held in the same country last year. In reality, the UAE hosted a quarter of the IPL 2014 matches.
