Firstpost Explains: Likely window for remainder of IPL 2021 and why UAE appears best bet

For the first time in its 13-year history, the Indian Premier League (IPL) was indefinitely postponed in May 2021, after a string of positive COVID-19 cases emerged among the players and support staff from different franchises.

Following this, the immediate priority of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was to ensure that international players and support staff — particularly those from Australia and New Zealand given the strict travel restrictions in those countries — reach home safely. With all that behind us, the focus of cricket’s richest board shifts towards decoding the optimum schedule and venue for conducting the remainder of the marquee T20 league.

Scheduling 

After taking on New Zealand for the World Test Championship final in Southampton from 18-22 June, India are scheduled to play a five-Test series against England from 4 August till 14 September.

Reportedly, the BCCI was in talks, albeit informally, with the ECB to shift the India-England series by a week so that the remaining 31 IPL matches can be smoothly conducted. As expected, that discussion didn't bear any fruit since ECB already has plenty on its plate.

England are slated to host Pakistan for three ODIs and as many T20Is from 8 July to 20 July. Pertinently, the inaugural edition of The Hundred, ECB's ambitious project, which was postponed last year due to COVID-19, is scheduled for 24 July to 21 August with dates clashing with the India-England Test series.

"The ECB have their inaugural Hundred from 24 July to 21 August. Their broadcast deals and everything is in place. So there is no chance of any shift happening," a BCCI source told PTI.

Besides, from a commercial and logistical standpoint, rescheduling the Test series was always going to be difficult. While ticket sales are already in flow for the Test series, the ECB would have a tough time rescheduling travel and making arrangements given a packed schedule. Even the broadcasters would have had to make arrangements, making rescheduling a decision that causes inconvenience to multiple parties.

The IPL trophy. Sportzpics

Where does IPL fit in?

There is a nine-day gap between the second and third Test and TOI reported that the BCCI was also in talks with ECB to reduce this gap.

“If we can have those extra days eked out from the India-England schedule, then it adds to the window. If not, then within these 30 days, a full day will have to be set aside for the Indian team and English cricketers to travel from the UK to UAE, five days will have to be set aside for the knockouts later. That will leave the BCCI with 24 days to conclude 27 matches,” a BCCI source was quoted by TOI.

“This window has four weekends available, which means a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers, that can accommodate 16 matches. That will leave the BCCI with 11 matches to be held in 19 days. That’s a week extra,” the source added.

Now that the Test series schedule remains untouched, the board is likely to look at a 30-day window (15 September-15 October) to conduct the remaining 31 matches of IPL, as indicated by BCCI sources. This will include eight doubleheaders over four weekends.

It is highly unlikely that the BCCI will schedule the IPL post the T20 World Cup since that would clash with the Ashes, meaning that multi-format players from England and Australia might have to miss out.

The familiar UAE as potential venue 

As many as four English counties – Middlesex, Surrey, Warwickshire, and Lancashire – had expressed interest in conducting the remaining IPL matches.

However, several factors shift the balance in UAE's favour as the preferred venue. Foremost is familiarity - the Emirates have previously hosted the IPL twice (in 2014 and 2020). Last year during the pandemic, the tournament was carried out without any hiccups. The familiarity with the protocols should definitely inspire confidence among the players, support staff, and even administrators.

Secondly, with monsoons expected in England around September-October, there always remains a risk of games getting washed out. The UAE, in comparison, tends to have hot and dry weather around September and becomes slightly cooler around October, as was seen during last year's IPL. The BCCI would want to make sure that the hosting fees they pay are effectively utilised.

The BCCI can also take heart from the fact that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to hold the remainder of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 in UAE from 5 June.

IPL’s COO Hemang Amin received plaudits from stakeholders for successfully conducting the previous edition in UAE and right from the start, he has been vocal about staging the 2021 edition in UAE.

The final call regarding the fate (schedule and venue) of the remaining IPL matches is expected to be made at BCCI's Special General Meeting on 29 May. It will be interesting to see what that is since the BCCI is likely to suffer losses of approximately Rs 2500 crore if the franchise T20 tournament is cancelled.