BCCI has managed to find a window for IPL 2021 after the tournament was suspended indefinitely at halfway stage in May. The Indian cricket board confirmed last weekend that IPL 2021 will resume in September-October in UAE. According to Inside Sport, BCCI is planning big changes to the schedule of remaining games to complete the tournament.
As per this report, there will be eight to ten doubleheaders in the second half of the competition. Moreover, BCCI is also looking to hold the final round of league games and playoffs at the same venue instead of having it at other stadiums.
The lucrative T-20 league will reportedly begin on September 17, while the final will take place on October 10. In 25 days, the tournament will be done and dusted before players join the National teams for the T-20 World Cup in the second half of October.
Along with the scheduling of games, BCCI also faces the big challenge of convincing other cricket boards to release overseas players for the remaining games. It will be a stiff task to convince England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Â will not allow English players to play in the remaining games of IPL 2021. ECB is keen on managing the workload of players ahead of the Ashes and T-20 World Cup in the final three months of the year. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is also not keen on releasing Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman for the second leg of IPL 2021.
Other cricket boards are yet to reveal their stance, but BCCI remains determined to go ahead with the plan even if overseas players don’t turn up. Meanwhile, franchises remain confident that BCCI will do everything to have all players available for IPL 2021. Even though they managed to successfully organise IPL 2020 in UAE, the second half of IPL 2021 will be an even bigger challenge for BCCI.