BCCI suspends IPL till April 15
Hours after Delhi government puts all sporting activity on hold, Board comes out with statement
Mumbai:adhering to the government’s strict health measures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday pushed back the start of this year’s Indian Premier League from March 29 to April 15.
Later in the day, the BCCI also cancelled the ongoing ODI series between India and South Africa, after players from both teams landed in Lucknow, where the second game was to be held on Sunday.
The IPL Governing Council is still scheduled to hold a meeting on Saturday. But due to the uncertainty of the situation and in an effort to keep up with fast paced developments, the BCCI announced the decision to postpone the start of the 13th season of the IPL. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) situation,” the BCCI statement read.
“The BCCI is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience,” the board added.
On Saturday, IPL’S governing council, BCCI’S office-bearers as well as broadcaster Star Sports will deliberate on the rescheduling of the cash-rich league. “Priority is safety, so we have postponed the matches,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said. “Let’s see what happens in the meet. We will discuss with the franchises. Nobody has a choice. Even the board doesn’t have a choice.”
Star India chairman Uday Shankar visited the BCCI headquarters on Friday and met the Sourav Ganguly, board secretary Jay Shah and IPL chief Brijesh Patel. Before the Governing Council meeting on Saturday, the BCCI top brass will be meeting representatives from all franchises to understand their concerns.
DELHI BANS ALL SPORTING EVENTS
This decision to defer the league came hours after the Delhi government declared that it will not allow any sporting activity in the national capital due to the health crisis.
“We have decided to ban any sports activity where people will gather in huge numbers like IPL. Social distancing is important to curb the breakout of coronavirus,” Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.
No seminars, conferences or any big event (beyond 200 people) will be allowed in Delhi, Sisodia further said. He also gave example of South Korea where 30 people were quarantined and social gatherings continued as it is. “The 31st person later spread the virus to 10,000 people. In Delhi, we are trying all means to prevent this. At this time, the biggest solution is social distancing,” said
Sisodia.
The number of positive coronavirus cases has been rising by the day in the country, having crossed 80 so far. On Thursday, India’s first COVID-19 death was recorded in Karnataka.
CAMPS SUSPENDED
With the start of the league pushed back by a fortnight for now, some of the franchises who had started their camps early are set to wind them down for the outstation players. Chennai Super Kings were among the first to start their camp—including top players such as captain MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina—training with the squad in Chennai. CSK trained on Friday too but the camp has been suspended since.
CSK are now expected to send their players back home for 10 days. “This is a medical emergency and we will fully cooperate as it is a worldwide problem,” a CSK official said. Dhoni’s presence during the camp had drawn massive crowds, but the franchise soon issued an advisory that spectators will not be allowed inside the stadium any longer.
Some of the players from Kolkata Knight Riders, who were training in Mumbai, as well as a few fringe players from Royal Challengers Bangalore will also put a halt to their proceedings. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals had finished a week-long conditioning camp and their next camp will be postponed. Mumbai Indians’s
pre-season camp was scheduled to begin next week.
LIMITED, CURTAILED
The tournament’s future will depend on the government’s future guidelines, primarily if they relax the visa conditions for the foreign players to be available post April 15.
There is also talk of the possibility of an increase in double headers to hasten the pace of the tournament. As part of their backup plan, BCCI are looking at the option of using an extra week and extending the IPL till May 31. The IPL final is now scheduled for May 24.
Most of the international teams have prior engagements from the first week of June—
England will host West Indies for a Test series, South Africa will face Sri Lanka in three ODIS and three T20IS and Australia are scheduled to tour Bangladesh for two Tests, according to the Future Tours Programme.
Apart from keeping an eye on extending the tournament without affecting international commitments, IPL’S organisers will now also have to factor in bans on hosting sports events by individual state governments.
Before Delhi, Karnataka had also expressed its unwillingness to host IPL matches, while Maharashtra wanted to ban the sale of tickets.
Hosting all matches within limited venues also remains a possibility.
The interview for selecting the selectors focused almost entirely on MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Candidates were asked how they’d deal with Indian cricket’s hottest stars and the CAC wanted answers to two critical questions—what to do with Dhoni, the all-time legend? How to manage Virat, the current superstar?
Nobody has clear answers, not even the CAC. Good batsmen play the ball close to the body, and Dhoni has mastered the art of keeping the cards close to his chest. About his future plans there is mystery. There speculation but the only confirmed news is the ‘thala’ is at CSK nets much to the delight of devoted fans.
Selectors have to decide on Dhoni, and this is the tough part, communicate with him. Not easy because how do you tell him it is time to move on?
Virat poses a different challenge for the selectors. Like the MSK Prasad-led committee, this one is also lightweight in Test experience, therefore on the back foot when communicating with the assertive Indian captain. It appears the powerful Virat/ Shastri pair has a huge say in who gets the final nod.
That selectors are chosen based on responses to managing stars confirms Indian cricket is personality driven.
The superstar culture runs through its DNA and top players have a status that threatens the belief that the game is bigger than any individual.
The selection interview focused on MSD and Virat, but the new selectors will be asked many other questions. Some, in the context of the T20 World Cup, are immediate which the selectors need to address. For instance, who is the chosen keeper? Is KL Rahul the new Rahul Dravid or is there place for the fearless Pant?
Who is the best spin option? Is Kuldeep Yadav out of the mix and is Jadeja the best bet after Chahal? Who is the first choice opener to partner Rohit Sharma—shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw or Rahul? Who is part of the imminent mini transition in pace bowling? If Navdeep Saini and Prasidh Krishna are front-runners, what happens to Bhuvi and Unadkat? Who will occupy the second all-rounder slot, besides Hardik Pandya— Shivam Dube or Kedar Jadhav?
There are larger issues about the longer format. The selectors have to work out a policy on player workload, injury management and rehab and return considering Ishant’s recent troubles. Creating bench strength and building a talent pathway, from Ranji to international cricket, is another priority considering Shubman Gill’s example he is on the waiting list for so long.
Selectors make choices using statistics, gut feel and experience. It’s never easy to balance performance and potential and identify the bright spark that separates the good from the ordinary. Also, it’s tough to decide how much rope to give to someone out of form, whether to choose experience or a young prospect.
Selectors must be like umpires, firm and consistent, and work within acceptable ground rules. Talent must be nurtured and experience trusted—ajinkya Rahane can’t become a bad batsman after one bad tour.
The questions posed to Sunil Joshi before handing the job were valid. National selectors and India captain must share a vision, just that in India, especially with Virat, it’s clear who the senior partner is. In the last few years, he is writing the script to develop a team culture that values fitness, commitment and competing aggressively regardless of conditions. Virat is the lead, the selectors only play support roles—a policy principle established when Shastri was appointed coach.