BCCI hints tentative timeline of IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup 2021

After months of speculation, BCCI on Monday finally announced that it had decided to shift the T20 World Cup from India to the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The decision comes after the board came to a conclusion that it won’t be possible to conduct the tournament smoothly in India, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Earlier it was also announced that the second phase of the Indian Premier League 2021 will be held in the UAE. It was initially reported that the tournament’s second phase will resume on September 17 or 18, with the final being scheduled just a few days before the start of the T20 World Cup. The World event is likely to begin on October 17. 

However, another development that was covered by the Times of India, stated that the BCCI is now planning to wrap up the IPL 2021 by October 10, which will give the Indian players a solid two-week break before they step into the T20 World Cup. The first week of the T20 World Cup will see 8 eight teams meeting each other in the preliminary round, while India will only begin their campaign when the main event starts with the Super 12 round. 

The preliminary round of the T20 World Cup to be held in Oman: Sourav Ganguly

Reports state if the showpiece event begins on October 17-18, India’s first match will not take place until the end of the third week of October or the beginning of the fourth week. “The dates haven’t been finalized. Even if the tournament starts on the heels of the IPL, it will not be much of a problem because the first 12 matches of the tournament will be played between the eight teams as qualifiers. Those matches will be played in Oman,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly told the paper on Monday.

Timeline of the IPL and the subsequent T20 World Cup: 

– IPL Season 14 starts on September 18-19

– IPL 2021 concludes on October 10

– T20 World Cup begins on October 17 (Only qualifier matches)

– Eight-team qualifier matches will be held in Oman

– Mainstream T20 World Cup begins on October 24/25

– T20 World Cup concludes on November 14

Organizing the T20 World Cup and the IPL in the UAE should be an obviously better choice for the BCCI. It not only ensures that the tournament doesn’t run into issues as it did during the IPL 2021’s first phase. Apart from this, the shifting of the T20 World Cup to the UAE might now see International teams allowing their players to take part in the IPL 2021. At this moment, BCCI is hopeful to have most of the league’s foreign players back for the second phase.