The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 which had got suspended after the bio-bubble was breached and players and support staff from various franchises contracted the COVID-19 virus, will mostly resume in September-October before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
The remaining decision about the cash-rich tournament will be taken in the meeting of the Board’s Special General Assembly (SGM) which will be held on May 29. Earlier, the BCCI had chalked out a plan to conduct the remainder of the season in the UAE in a one-month window between September 15 and October 15.
However, apart from IPL, there will also be a bilateral series in the UAE. In such a situation, it would be difficult for the UAE to host the T20 World Cup.
ICC's plan for T20 World Cup:
As it stands, the T20 World Cup, comprising of 16 countries, is scheduled to be played in India between late October with the final on November 14. The IPL, however, is mostly being played in the UAE due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in India.
If the BCCI goes ahead with this plan, it would be difficult to return back to India for the T20 World Cup. If the tournament would also be held in UAE, it comes with its own share of challenges.
According to a report in Cricinfo, 45 matches - IPL's 31 and the T20 World Cup's including qualifier matches, are to be held.
It is very difficult to host so many matches on three grounds of UAE, which will also lead to the pitch slowing down in the final matches. In such a situation, the opening matches of the T20 World Cup could be held in Oman instead of the UAE.
Oman can host initial competition:
If the ICC does plan to organise the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Oman, then they will have to seek the permission of the UAE government, so that the players can travel between both countries without undergoing the quarantine period.
The UAE government has made different quarantine rules for different countries and in such a situation, teams will start reaching UAE from the last week of September.
Future of IPL 2021:
The IPL 2021 was postponed due to increasing cases of coronavirus among players and staff members. As per a TOI report, BCCI who are looking to complete the IPL 2021 before the World Cup, says it will serve as a 'perfect platform' for the warm-up to the tournament that India is expected to host from the second half of October 2021.
