IPL suspension: BCCI mull hosting event in UAE in late 2021, England players unlikely

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday decided to suspend the IPL 2021 with immediate effect after several players featuring in the tournament tested positive for COVID-19. The IPL suspension decision was made after Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Wriddhiman Saha and Delhi Capitals spinner Amit Mishra tested positive for the ungodly virus on Tuesday.

IPL 2021 schedule: BCCI planning to conduct remainder of IPL 2021 in September

The Saha COVID news came a day after KKR players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, as well as, CSK team 2021 CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji and a bus cleaner tested positive for COVID-19. Considering the growing cases in IPL 2021's bio-bubble, the BCCI decided to postpone the competition for the time being. With the current situation in India, the resumption of the league anytime soon looks a far-fetched prospect.

Meanwhile, a BCCI official quoted by ANI has revealed that the board is keen to tap the September window, much like last year, to conclude the IPL 2021 before the T20 World Cup. The BCCI official hinted that if the COVID-19 situation in India will be under control in September, then the 14th edition of IPL can be completed. "Why not? If the foreign players in IPL 2021 are available and the COVID-19 situation is in control, we can definitely look at that window before the T20 WC. In fact, it can act as a good preparation ground for the showpiece event." It is worth mentioning that the T20 World Cup 2021 is set to be played in India in October and November. 

However, if the COVID situation in India is not under control by September, the BCCI is mulling to conduct the remainder of IPL 2021 in the UAE as they did last year, as per IPL latest news. The move would be ideal considering the fact the UAE is also the standby venue for T20 World Cup 2021. Moreover, the advantage of completing the IPL 2021 in the UAE from late September onwards would be that the players would be in position and match-ready for the T20 World Cup.

Conducting the IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE will also reduce air travel. Recently, the BCCI unveiled nine host cities for the T20 World Cup, however, playing in the UAE will eliminate the risk of traveling much which will also curtail the risk of COVID-19 being contracted from outside team environments. But if the remainder of IPL 2021 schedule is arranged in September in the UAE, the availability of England players for the competition is unlikely. 

From mid-September, England are slated to tour Bangladesh and Pakistan in order to prepare for the T20 World Cup and England players featuring in the IPL 2021 cannot be in two places at the same time, which is why ECB will have to take a big call. Notably, the ECB had promised the BCCI that their centrally-contracted players would feature throughout the IPL 2021.

IPL latest news: Is IPL cancelled?

The IPL suspension news took the internet by storm as fans were left wondering "Is IPL cancelled?" To answer the query, no, the tournament has not been called off but has been suspended for the time being. The same was confirmed by a top BCCI official to Republic World.

While speaking to Republic World, the BCCI official said that the IPL 2021 has been suspended and not cancelled. He added that the IPL 2021 resumption date will be decided next week. The official also assured that all IPL 2021 matches will be rescheduled once they get clearance for shifting the entire tournament to Mumbai and added that until then, the teams will remain in the bio-bubble.

SOURCE: IPLT20.COM