Timing of IPL threatens T20 World Cup
Cricket’s changing priorities were laid bare yesterday when it became clear that India intends to stage the Indian Premier League in between September and November, which would force the postponement of the Twenty20 World Cup.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is looking to hold the IPL from September 25 to November 1, at this stage in India, but with the United Arab Emirates as a fallback if lockdown laws prevent the tournament taking place in its home country.
Pressure will now mount on the International Cricket Council to postpone the Twenty20 World Cup, which is due to be held in Australia from October 18, at its board meeting next week.
The complications of 16 teams from around the world flying in to Australia as the world battles the coronavirus pandemic are likely to prompt the ICC to put the tournament back by 12 months, which would allow the IPL to take its window.
It would be amajor setback for the smaller nations who rely greatly on income from ICC events to survive.
However, for India the IPL is vastly more lucrative than global tournaments and it would be good news for those England players who have IPL deals.
If the IPL is played from September 25 to November 1, it would mean the England one-day series in India in September is either delayed or scheduled to end before the tournament starts. Dates for the series have not been agreed and it looks set to be postponed.
India’s thinking was crystallised in a report released yesterday which claimed the world game could not afford for the IPL to be cancelled this year. The report was written by Sundar Raman, the former chief executive of the IPL, who stated the tournament was worth 70 per cent more in revenue than the Twenty20 World Cup. Its £81.7m (NZ$162.67) annual player salary bill alone is the equivalent of broadcast deals for several nations.
Raman’s argued that while this year’s Twenty20 World Cup could be moved back to October 2021 (when another edition of the tournament is due to be held in India), the IPL has no such wriggle room.
His view echo the warning from Manoj Badale, the partowner of the Rajasthan Royals, who told The Daily Telegraph last month: ‘‘No IPL [in 2020] would be a big US$600M loss (NZ$976M) for the global cricket economy — affecting the top talent, the investors, the BCCI and the enormous supply chain involved in the production of the event.’’
Rahul Johri, the chief executive of the Indian board, has made it clear it intended to prioritise the IPL. ‘‘IPL is one of the greatest engagers. More people watched the IPL last year than those who voted for general elections.’’