Tug of war over World T20, IPL
India’s cricket board claims it will not push for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia to be postponed but would consider staging the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October/November slot if it becomes available.
This year’s IPL, which is worth almost $530 million to the BCCI, has been indefinitely postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic while the World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 18, is also in jeopardy.
Reports in Australian media have suggested India’s influential board may look to push for the World Cup to be postponed to open up a window for the IPL.
World Cup contingency plans are on the agenda at next week’s International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting but BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said India would not be recommending it be pushed back.
“Why should the BCCI suggest postponing the Twenty20 World Cup?” Dhumal said.
“We’ll discuss it in the meeting and whatever is appropriate, (the ICC) will take a call.
“If the Australia government announces that the tournament will happen and Cricket Australia is confident they can handle it, it will be their call. BCCI would not suggest anything.”
While Australia has seen new infections of the novel coronavirus slow to a trickle and is gradually easing travel curbs and social distancing restrictions, hosting a 16-team World Cup would be a Herculean task for Cricket Australia.
And former Australia captain Ian Chappell says BCCI will ‘get their way’ if they want to use the October/ November window reserved for the T20 World Cup.
“The first thing you know is that the BCCI will win,” he said.
“They’ll get their way if they want to play in October. At this point it appears to me that the chances of the T20 World Cup going ahead are somewhere between Buckley’s and none.
“With so many countries, I just think it would be logistically way too difficult, but that’s purely a cricketer talking, not a medical person or someone with experience running a tournament like that.
“But it seems to me with 16 teams to worry about it’s probably going to be too hard, and if the BCCI want the IPL to take that slot they’ll probably get their way.”
The ICC has said it was unlikely to make a final call on the fate of the World Cup until August but some boards are in the process of making contingency plans in the event of a postponement.
While the BCCI recognised an open October-November window would suit the IPL, Dhumal said there was no point in making plans until there was some certainty about the World Cup.
“If we have the window available, and depending on what all can be organised, we’ll decide accordingly,” he added.
“We can’t presume that it’s not happening and go on planning.”
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