Owner of RR Manoj Badale (photo- RR Twitter)
Owner of RR Manoj Badale (photo- RR Twitter)

Rajasthan Royals (RR) owner Manoj Badale says scheduling the suspended IPL 2021 will be “a real challenge” for the BCCI and there is only a small possibility of hosting the League on either side of the T20 World Cup later in 2021.

The 14th edition of the richest T20 league in the world had to be suspended indefinitely after four players Kolkata Knight Riders’ Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Wriddhiman Saha, and Delhi Capitals’ Amit Mishra tested positive for COVID-19 in the bio-bubble.

IPL Trophy
IPL Trophy (Image Credit: Twitter)

Apart from them, CSK coaches L Balaji and Michael Hussey tested COVID positive, along with several groundstaff of the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi also contracted the disease, and many criticized BCCI’s ploy of employing multiple cities for hosting IPL 2021 matches.

Thus far, the BCCI has not called off the IPL 2021 entirely and is hoping to play out the remainder of 31 matches in September, but there are hurdles to organizing the tournament elsewhere or even in India.

I Think It’s A Small Possibility Of Something In September In The UK Or Possibly Something In The Middle East, Either Side Of The T20 World Cup To Host Remainder Of IPL 2021 : Manoj Badale

Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale says rescheduling the tournament and bringing back most of the overseas players will be a huge task for the BCCI, especially with the cramped international cricket calendar seeing cricketers playing the game round the year.

Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal [Image-IPLT20]

“I think the challenge is just finding space and calendar. The players are already playing too much cricket. The calendars are incredibly packed, and particularly this year after COVID, Boards from around the world are trying to get as many competitions and as many Test matches in as possible,” Badale said during a virtual interaction arranged by the Royals.

(ECB) Director of Cricket Ashley Giles has already made it clear that top English cricketers won’t be available even on resumption of the league due to their FTP schedule.

Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler smashes his maiden T20 ton [Image-IPLT20]

“I think it’s going to be a real challenge. There’s a possibility. I think it’s a small possibility of something in September in the UK or possibly something in the Middle East, either side of the T20 World Cup, but I think it’s going to be a real challenge,” Badale added.

The two windows that are being talked about for resumption of the IPL 2021 in the second half of September and before the T20 World Cup (October-November) and the other is after mid-November.

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