MUMBAI: So has the England and Wales Cricket Board received a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to tweak the schedule of the five-Test series in August-September to accommodate the Indian Premier League remainder?
A categorical “no” was the response offered by an ECB spokesperson to Cricbuzz late on Thursday night. “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,” said spokesperson stated.
That is NOT what UK’s The Times reported earlier Thursday though, which was what set off the media kerfuffle in the first place. As per The Times: “The Board of Control for Cricket in India has enquired about the possibility of moving the final Test of the English summer in order to make room to complete the postponed Indian Premier League. Informal discussions have been had between the respective boards as cricket continues to grapple with a schedule ravaged by Covid.
“The request puts the ECB in a tricky position, stuck between the rock of wanting to maintain good relations with the most powerful cricket nation as well as being as flexible and helpful as possible given the postponement of the game’s most financially lucrative competition, and the hard place of not impacting on their own carefully planned domestic schedule.
“At this late stage it is hard to see the ECB acceding to any potential change and it is expected to hold its ground (emphasis ours).”
Rival cricket website ESPNcricinfo also echoed The Times when it reported that the BCCI had put in a late request to the ECB to bring forward the start and the end of the five-Test series by a week, in a bid to complete the pandemic-interrupted 2021 IPL season. As per ESPNcricinfo, the request “was put in this week and the ECB is yet to respond”.
As for the BCCI, its officials have steadfastly refused to comment on the matter.
