New Delhi: With the coronavirus outbreak bringing the world to a standstill, sporting events across the world have either been postponed or cancelled and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now looking at the October-November window to host the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
But the move can only be possible if the ICC decides to postpone the mens T20 World Cup that is to be held later in the year.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that while there have been talks with regards to hosting the IPL in the October-November window, it will only be possible if the World T20 to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15 is postponed.
“At present, there is a lockdown of borders and while Australia has said it is a potential six-month lockdown, things can change with an improvement in the scenario.
UK could follow the same pattern considering the spread of the pandemic. We are still to understand what the Indian government will decide with regards to closing the international borders. In such a scenario, the only window that looks safe is the October-November one. But again, that collides with the T20 World Cup.
“So, if the ICC does go ahead and decides to postpone the T20 World Cup due to the current scenario, only then we can look at the October-November window because even if a six-month border closedown is ordered by every country from say now, it ends by the start of October.
But again, for that, the spread of the coronavirus needs to be stopped and things must come under human control. In short, there will have to be a lot of maths,” the official said.
“Again, it would be the last step for the ICC to push the T20 World Cup from 2020 to 2022 because there is no window in 2021.
So, at the moment, it is all a bit too far-fetched to be honest. But yes, the October-November window has been spoken about for the IPL, but a lot of external factors need to fall into place for that to become a reality.”When contacted, an ICC official made it clear that the T20 World Cup is still on as planned and there have been no talks of a postponement. “There have been no talks of any postponement to the World T20 that is to be held in October and November this year,” the official told IANS.
Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts had earlier said that he was hoping that the T20 World Cup could be played as per schedule in normal circumstances.On the other hand, no play, no pay.
This could well be the fate of players, who have signed up for this year’s IPL, which has been postponed and seems unlikely to go ahead unless BCCI figures an alternate window later in the year, compromising a few bilateral commitments. “The system of IPL payments is that 15 per cent is paid a week before the tournament starts. 65 per cent more is paid during the tournament. The remaining 20 percent is paid within a stipulated time after the tournament ends,” a senior official of an IPL franchise told PTI.
“The BCCI has specific guidelines. Obviously, no player will be paid as of now,” he added. In fact, the economic implications of a season without IPL could be huge, admitted BCCI Players’ body — the Indian Cricketers’ Association — president Ashok Malhotra.
He feels that even domestic players may have to accept pay cuts if losses run into thousands of crores amid the ongoing lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Right now, BCCI is looking at an alternate window as chances of a curtailed IPL in May look dim but nothing concrete has come out.
The country is currently under a 21-day lockdown till April 14 while IPL has been postponed till April 15. The pandemic has caused mayhem worldwide, killing over 37,000 people so far. (Agencies)
