IPL Suspension: IPL 2021 was postponed after the covid outbreak in India. When will the remaining matches be played? Is it cancelled?
After 24 days and 29 games, the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, IPL 2021 got postponed due to the covid outbreak in India and several players testing covid positive despite being in a bio bubble. KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier were the first to be tested positive followed by Amit Misra, Wriddhiman Saha from DC, and then Tim Siefert and Prasidh Krishna from KKR tested positive four days after the league was postponed.
Why Was IPL 2021 Suspended?
CSK’s bowling coach L Balaji and one of their staff members were tested positive on the same day when Varun and Sandeep were tested positive. Later on, CSK’s batting coach Michael Hussey was tested covid positive.
Hussey has been tested negative now. All the Australian players have been moved to the Maldives in isolation awaiting the uplifting of travel restrictions from India to Australia by the Australian government.
Varun Chakravarthy went for a shoulder scan outside the bubble on the 1st of May and it’s suspected that he got infected during that time. He then had a meal with Sandeep Warrier who met Amit Mishra during a practice session when KKR and DC were practicing simultaneously, which was against the covid protocols for IPL 2021.
IPL Suspension: What Happens Next?
The vice-president of BCCI, Rajeev Shukla stated that the league has been postponed and not cancelled, which means that the league will be resumed and the remaining matches will be completed once the situation gets under control. But this isn’t as easy as it sounds. For doing that the BCCI will have to find a new window ensuring all the overseas players’ availability.
The situation in India is very serious and it looks very unlikely that it will be under control quickly. So, the chances of IPL 2021 resuming in India look very slim. In that case, it can be shifted overseas like IPL 2020 which was played in the UAE. Moreover, English County clubs have shown interest in hosting the IPL. So these are the two probable options if they decide to organize it outside India.
IPL New Window
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that they are looking for a window before the T20 world cup to complete the remaining matches of the IPL. The world cup is scheduled in India in October 2021 but it can be shifted somewhere else if the situation here does not improve.
The window that Ganguly said about can be in September but time will tell us if it will be played in India or not. One thing is sure that BCCI will want to complete the tournament, ensuring a safe environment because if they don’t then they have to bear a huge financial loss.
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