Is Dada interested in ICC’s chairman post?

fair to assume that officials have been working assiduously behind the curtain, turning a screw here, twisting a handle there, to keep hopes of staging the 2020 edition: preferably in India itself, but if circumstances remain adverse, then some other country, like in 2009 and 2014.

The clamour for not cancelling the IPL, even if it means dropping the T20 World Championship due in Australia in October, stems from the fiscal value the Indian league brings to the sport.

At a conservative estimate, losses could be to the tune of `3000-`3500 crore if IPL 2020 does not take place.

That kind of blow would hurt even the cash rich

BCCI, but also — directly and obliquely — other boards who lean one way or the other on the BCCI for succour. In case of hindrances to holding the IPL this year, the could ‘punish’ a recalcitrant Board by refusing to host or tour that country.

Not everybody’s happy that the IPL should be prioritised. Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has said that Cricket Australia and Australian players should not be swayed by the money available from the Indian league and be more concerned about cricket in their own country. There are some other similar voices too.

The argument of those in favour of the IPL this year has some compelling dimensions. the league

If is not held, the projected `3000-`3500 crore rupees profit have to be written off forever. However, if the T20 World Cup is postponed, the losses would be miniscule in comparison.

With spectators unlikely to be allowed to attend matches in Australia, and sponsorship receipts likely to nosedive post-Covid-19, the T20WC will hardly have the lustre or the lucre imagined even three months back.

In the event, if Australia are allowed to host the 2022 T20 WC (2021 is in India) in the revised Future Tours Program, it would be financially rewarding for Cricket Australia and the ICC.

Prospects of the IPL this year then get that much brighter, which is a winwin situation for everybody, those in favour of the league aver.

In the other story, South African Cricket’s new Cricket Director and former captain Graeme Smith has backed Sourav Ganguly as the next ICC Chairman. The post falls open in July when Shashank Manohar’s term comes to an end. Manohar has already declined an extension.

A day after Smith’s statement, SCA president Chris Nenzani clarified that the former captain was speaking in a personal capacity. But this is clearly an internecine protocol issue within the SCA, which is otherwise looking for more cricketing exchanges with India to boost its flagging finances.

Moot point is whether Ganguly himself is interested in the ICC job. His assignment as BCCI chief officially finishes in July. According to the Justice Lodha Committee’s proposal, Ganguly then goes for a three-year cooling off period since he has already held an official post for six years.

However, this could be overturned if the Supreme Court, which has been petitioned by the BCCI on the matter agrees to amend the Lodha reform and grant Ganguly (as well as secretary Jay Shah) a full three-year term. How this plays out remains to be seen

July, it would appear is going to be a crucial month in cricket, both in India and elsewhere.