Once the dust settles down and everyone is back where they belong, BCCI will have to answer a couple of obvious questions – when will the IPL resume and will T20 World Cup happen in India?
The Indian team is expected to leave for the England tour in the first week of June, so the window for resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) can be ruled out before India's tour of England as the situation in India, as it stands, is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
BCCI is contemplating the resumption of the league after September 18 when the Indian players return from their tour of England. But that would come at a very high cost. India is expected to host New Zealand before the T20 World Cup slotted between October 18 and November 15. Organising IPL then would jeopardize India’s pre-World Cup plans of strategising and baking the team together.
Also, considering what All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Dr. Randeep Guleria has to say, there isn’t a window left for India to organise the T20 World Cup either.
“If the virus evolves further and it develops an immune escape mechanism then there is a chance that we may see a third wave of the pandemic,” he was quoted as saying by India Today, predicting the third wave somewhere around November.
By all means, considering the current circumstances, it looks impossible to organise IPL and T20 World Cup in such a short span.
With India’s image being hit, foreign players will also be doubtful to join the IPL bubble if the situation doesn’t improve drastically.
Though BCCI has the clout and money to make it possible, they would likely pass the buck to UAE for organising T20 World Cup and IPL (if at all it happens) after being once bitten this time.
"The remaining 31 matches of the IPL will be completed whenever we can," IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told later on May 4.
However, he fell short of providing the location where it could take place. "We have to look at a window, before the ICC T20 World Cup or after the World Cup," he added with uncertainty, probably knowing it is unwise to predict anything till the time coronavirus lurks around.
