The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has fixed the date for the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. It will now happen in the UAE. The first game will be played on September 19. The final is scheduled for October 15.
IPL 2021: What happened earlier?
BCCI had suspended IPL 2021 due to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases inside IPL’s bio-bubble. After a lot of discussions, the board decided to shift the remaining matches to UAE.
What about foreign players?
Speaking to ANI, the BCCI official said, “The discussions went really well and with ECB already giving us the oral nod to host the event ahead of the BCCI SGM. it was about closing the deal over the last week. The BCCI was always keen on a 25-day window to finish the remaining matches,” the official said.”
When asked about the availability of overseas players the official said, “The discussions have started. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the foreign players will be mostly available. If a couple of them do not manage to turn up, we shall then decide on the future course of action. But keeping fingers crossed for now and hoping to have an action-packed end to the 14th edition in UAE.”
With many boards said previously that they’ll not allow their players to play the IPL in the Sep-Oct window with considering the bigger picture of World Cup 2021, it’ll be a huge task for BCCI to engage in positive discussion with the foreign boards.
One of the franchise officials said, “Yes if we do end up missing some of the foreign stars, that is an area which would need some attention when it comes to picking replacements as the foreign players are also integral to the teams. Team balance can go for a toss, so keeping fingers crossed on that one.”