'Let the T20 WC announcement come when it has to' - BCCI to start planning for the IPL

Cricket is slowly returning to normalcy in some parts of the world amid the pandemic. Even the other sports are being played behind the closed doors now following strict protocols. Rather international cricket is set to start from July 8 with the Test series between England and the West Indies. But with the daily rising cases, there is no idea when the sport will resume in India.

The BCCI desperately wants to stage the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year and it is irked it seems with the ICC for delaying the decision to postpone the T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in October. Only if the mega event is deferred, a window opens for the IPL to take place this year. Cricket Australia (CA) has already stated that the conditions aren’t ideal for them to host the World Cup.

The Indian cricket board has been eagerly waiting for a month now to plan for the IPL but the ICC hasn’t taken a final decision on the T20 WC. The BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal now feels that the board needs to start planning irrespective of the announcement as it is not in their hands.

“Those announcements and outcomes are not in our hands. The T20 World Cup, for instance, is being postponed so let the announcement come when it has to. It is time for the BCCI to start planning for the year ahead,” he said while talking to the Times of India.

BCCI planning to resume cricket from September

Arun Dhumal also informed that the board is looking for resumption of cricket in the country from September. He reckons that the domestic leagues are not much dependent on external factors and cited examples of other sports like Football, Basketball already getting underway in other countries.

“The NBA is beginning in the US in a protected zone. The English Premier League (EPL) is on and so are the FA Cup matches. Bundesliga was the first to show the way. Even Australias domestic rugby league is about to begin. This is what is happening right now. What BCCI is talking about is making plans, even if at the contingency levels, for September onwards.

“So, what are we witnessing here? Domestic leagues are in focus while the Olympics and the World Cups are taking a backseat. That’s because local leagues dont depend on too many external factors to get going. Revenues are more localised; gate receipts arent such a huge concern and local leagues can be trimmed and planned to suit particular windows.

“They’re also television friendly because they can be adjusted to primarily suit local prime time, the BCCI treasurer further added.