Understanding best possible scenario for truncated IPL if April 20 deadline is missed
The world is in lockdown mode and there is hardly any sport happening anywhere you are looking at right now. Such has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that we are possibly in a dark period in human history, with the situation being compared to the horrific Spanish flu of 1918.
While it is not easy for a cricket writer to delve deep into Virology (Study of Virus of course, not Virender Sehwag’s Twitter feed), I had to, just to be sure when this Pandemic would come to an end. Nevermind a great tragedy in human history can be averted with the invention of a powerful vaccine but it would also be the normalcy on a sporting field that will be restored, something that gives us hope and joy, and grief and detour.
For the cricket fans, however, the biggest question is the timing as the IPL finds itself in a dire situation. Considering for home and away round of IPL happening requires a minimum of a 45-day window - yes, I am talking about a truncated IPL which can be possible only if the tournament starts on or before April 20 - it might never go ahead this year as the situation in India is unlikely to be solved anytime soon. But there is a minimum of 10,000 crore at stake which will not be recovered if it is deferred fully - a fear that has engulfed the IPL franchises largely.
From a realistic standpoint, is there a way forward for the IPL to happen on a later date? Something has to make way and the only window, if it misses the April 20 deadline, that I can see is post T20 World Cup and before the Australia tour happens. Let’s consider the global pandemic that is COVID -19 will have a subsidised effect in May, with England returning to Sri Lanka to complete their ICC Test Championship formalities and Australia playing New Zealand on home and away basis to ensure the period that was given to the IPL best utilised to finish off the pending stuff.
In the wake of Monsoon time in India, June to July is not the perfect time to host any long event and considering the IPL plays a significant part in BCCI’s economy, they wouldn’t take that punt. With the ICC T20 World Cup in October, the window totally gets thrown out of the equation and India will be left with no choice than the pre-winter window for the first time since IPL’s inception in 2008. But the question lurks - Is that a feasible solution that we are looking at? Well, from a conceptualised point of view, there is no binary and I am going with assumption and look at how a truncated IPL can fit into the system.
Considering Windies, New Zealand, England, Australia, and South Africa are the biggest source of IPL’s foreign players, I will stick to those nations. Australia, after the home T20 World Cup, is slated to play India from the fourth week of November but before that, they will host Afghanistan for a one-off Test. With summer setting in New Zealand, the Kiwi nation will resume their ICC Test Championship contest, by hosting Windies and Pakistan for three and two Tests respectively. In what is good news for the BCCI, England and South Africa have no matches lined up until the end of December while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will play three ODIs in the last week of the Calendar year.
India’s Australia assignment is a very awaited one - a series that cannot be truncated - but if India somehow make the Aussies agree to delay the series by one week and replace the ODIs for a later date of the Aussie summer, then there will be a 40-day period opened up for the IPL. It is a significant boost because India will have everyone - Australia, England, South Africa and West Indies - in their tent but will only lose out on New Zealand players. I am saying West Indies because most of the Caribbean players who play in the IPL are one-format players and have hardly any association with Test cricket. It won’t impact the Jason Holder-led Test side in a colossal way once they set foot in New Zealand.
At the core of it, the truncated IPL, if at all it misses the April 20 deadline which seems likely, it is the possible rescheduling of the India-Australia series that will help BCCI. It seems all the more likely because, after the postponement of the Sri Lanka-England series and Pakistan-Bangladesh second Test, the ICC might move away from their original plan of hosting the ICC Test Championship final in June 2021 at the Lord’s. This would mean that Australia can easily host Afghanistan as well.
That scenario will not only help BCCI host IPL to save a large chunk of money that would otherwise be lost in toto but also help Indian and foreign players a big deal. But as we all know, we are looking at a dark future for the time being - an unprecedented one for our generation too - and all we can do is hope for the best. Nothing more IPL can do either.
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