The second half of the currently postponed IPL 2021 tournament is expected to resume in the September-October window and will be played in the UAE. The second phase of the IPL 2021 will cover 31 matches including the two playoff matches and the final.
BCCI is likely to make the announcement on May 29 when the members assemble for a special general meeting.
India’s five-Test series against England will end on August 4 and the BCCI is working on shortening the 9-day gap between the second Test and third Test of the series so that it can have more time to organize the IPL 2021 phase two.
"If that gap can be reduced to four, it will allow BCCI five extra days to make use of," sources said.
BCCI has not initiated any official talks with ECB to see if the 41-day window reserved for the five Tests can be tweaked. BCCI will have a 30-day window to conduct the remainder of IPL 2021 in September-October.
"If we can have those extra days eked out from the India-England schedule, then it adds to the window. If not, then within these 30 days, a full day will have to be set aside for the Indian team and English cricketers to travel from the UK to UAE, five days will have to be set aside for the knockouts later.
That will leave the BCCI with 24 days to conclude 27 matches. This window has four weekends available, which means a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers that can accommodate 16 matches. That will leave the BCCI with 11 matches to be held in 19 days. That's a week extra," sources said.
Further, should the BCCI agree to 'request' the ECB for the extra five days, and should the ECB agree, it'll only add to the cushion ahead of the T20 World Cup starting around October 18.
BCCI also feels that the teams who won’t make it into the playoffs of the IPL 2021, can release their players to join their respective teams for preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup.
"The IPL will, in fact, be the perfect platform to warm up for the ICC event. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is watching this space with keen interest and will not interfere with the logistics as long as it does not conflict with the World Cup window,” sources said.
"The International Cricket Council (ICC) is watching this space with keen interest and will not interfere with the logistics as long as it does not conflict with the World Cup window.
The BCCI is unlikely to announce anything on the T20 World Cup except that it will be held in India as scheduled. Going forward, how the expected third wave of Covid's unrelenting menace behaves in the Indian sub-continent will determine the future course. "Until then, the World Cup stays here in India as planned," sources added.
(Times Of India Inputs)
