Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
After the unprecedented postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, there was a cloud of uncertainty over when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), would conduct the remainder of the IPL. In a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Saturday, BCCI announced the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the new venue for the remaining games of IPL 2021. The matches will be played between September 17th and October 10th.
BCCI has decided to work with the 8 franchises on the availability of the players in the second leg of the IPL. The BCCI has also thought about hearing “requests” from the franchises regarding replacements, in case some players are not able to participate.
According to TOI, the BCCI franchises were not communicated about the IPL venue before the SGM meeting. However, according to them, the SGM attendees said that it was pretty much decided beforehand and “it was more of a monologue than a dialogue”.
Availability of England players doubtful
The BCCI has carefully chosen the September-October window to ensure maximum participation of the overseas contingent of the teams. Though there are no bilateral series of nations during the IPL window, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is slated to finish off by the second week of September. The availability of the English players is another roadblock as Ashley Giles, who is the Managing Director of the English and Wales cricket board (ECB), has talked about their jam-packed schedule. He has also said that some of the big players of England will be rested during the IPL window.