Phase 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) – which will cover the remaining 31 matches of the 2021 edition, including the four knockout games – is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates between September and October. The BCCI is likely to make the announcement on May 29 when members assemble for a special general meeting.
India’s five-Test series against England, scheduled to begin on August 4, is set to conclude on September 14 as of now. The BCCI has not initiated any official talk with the England & Wales Cricket Board to see if the 41-day window – reserved for the five Test matches – can be tweaked in any way.
While there is a three to four-day gap between all Test matches, there is a nine-day gap between the second Test (in London) and the third (at Leeds). “The ECB sells its season tickets way in advance. Therefore, it will be impossible for them to make any changes. But yes, if that nine-day gap can be reduced to four, then it will certainly allow the BCCI extra five-odd days to make use of. Whether BCCI will ask the ECB to consider it is too early to tell,” sources said.
If BCCI refrains from making any requests to the ECB and continues to plan Phase-2 of the IPL post the India-England series as scheduled, it will have a 30-day window available – from September 15 to October 15 – to put a blueprint in place.
“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 said.
This extra week can be adjusted at both ends – at the start and the conclusion – to have a cushion around the window. Further, should the BCCI agree to ‘request’ the ECB for the extra five days, and should the ECB agree, it’ll only add to the cushion ahead of the T20 World Cup starting around October 18.
BCCI is also of the view that since all teams will not be participating during the IPL knockouts, cricketers who’re out of the knockouts can disperse and join their respective teams for the World Cup. “The IPL will, in fact, be the perfect platform to warm up for the ICC event,” sources said. “The International Cricket Council (ICC) is watching this space with keen interest and will not interfere with the logistics as long as it does not conflict with the World Cup window.”
BCCI ‘informally’ requests ECB to advance Test series
The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has put in an informal request with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to consider tweaking the schedule for the upcoming five-Test series in England so that BCCI could get a bigger window to complete this year’s IPL which was suspended due to the pandemic. According to sources, BCCI was checking with ECB if it’s possible to finish the Test series earlier. The fifth Test is scheduled to be played in Manchester from September 10. The ECB has stated that the there has been no official request on this issue. “We talk to the BCCI on a regular basis about a wide range of issues, especially as we address the challenges of Covid-19, but have had no official request to change dates and are continuing to plan for the five Test series as is scheduled,” an ECB official said.
It’s learned that BCCI is not going to push ECB on the issue as it is aware that the English board is launching ‘The Hundred’ in July-Aug. “There are a lot of factors involved. The ECB incurred massive losses due to the pandemic last year. They have the inaugural The Hundred in July-August this year. BCCI has informally checked with ECB if any adjustments could be made, especially as four counties have offered to host the IPL,” a source said. BCCI is looking for at least a three-week window to complete the remaining 31 matches of the IPL which was suspended abruptly in May due to the pandemic. At the moment, UAE looks to be the safer option for BCCI to host the IPL.
