MUMBAI: Manoj Badale, principal owner of Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, has straight up articulated what no one in the Indian cricket system seems willing to directly acknowledge. That rescheduling the suspended IPL 2021 would be a real challenge as most international teams have already locked in their calendars.
The IPL 2021 season was suspended on May 4 after the bio-bubble that the BCCI had set up was breached due to poor decision making on the part of the board’s head honchos in taking the tournament to Covid “ground zero” hot spots Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Badale said finding space on the calendar would be the biggest obstacle with India set to host the T20 World Cup in October.
“I think the challenge is just finding space and calendar. In my opinion, the players are already playing too much cricket. The calendars are incredibly packed, and particularly this year after COVID-19, boards from around the world are trying to get as many competitions and as many Test matches in as possible,” said Badale in a webinar organised by Rajasthan Royals.
“I think it’s going to be a real challenge. There’s a possibility. I think it’s a small possibility of something in September in the UK or possibly something in the Middle East, either side of the T20 World Cup, but I think it’s going to be a real challenge,” he added.
Earlier, Ashley Giles, managing director of the England men’s team, had indicated that Three Lions’ players might not be available for the remainder of this edition of the IPL if it gets rescheduled for some time later this year.
“We’ve got a full FTP schedule. So if those tours to Pakistan and Bangladesh [in September and October] are going ahead, I’d expect the players to be there,” ESPNcricinfo had quoted Giles as saying.
Giles said England’s schedule for the summer is “incredibly busy” and the management wants to look after their players. Moreover, India and England are slated to lock horns in the five-match Test series in the UK this year. The series would commence in August.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said earlier this week that the massive upsurge in COVID-19 infections in India meant it would be impossible to stage the remaining games in the country, even if a window could somehow be carved out.
