IPL 2021 likely to resume on Sept.19 in UAE: Reports
- 26 May 2021
The halted Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is likely to resume once again in the UAE in September and the final will be played in October, after it was suspended indefinitely by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to the Covid-19 crisis.
IPL 2021 is expected to resume either on Sept.19 or 20 while the final is likely to play played on Oct. 10, as per the media reports.
Players from India and England, who will finish their Test series on Sept.14, will travel to Dubai on Sept. 15th and are expected to remain in quarantine for three days before the tournament begins again.
“The BCCI has spoken to all the stakeholders and the likely start could be between September 18th to 20th. Since Sept.18 is a Saturday and 19 a Sunday, it is more likely that you would want to re-start it on a weekend date,” the official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“Similarly, Oct.9th or 10th will be the final as it’s a weekend. We are finalising the itinerary and there will be 10 double headers and seven evening matches along with four main games (two qualifiers, one eliminator and the final), which completes the list of 31 matches,” the official added.
A franchise official confirmed that a communication from BCCI has come on the matter.
“We have been told by the BCCI to be ready for the tournament. We have been given a Sept.15 to 20 window,” a team official said.
The BCCI also opened up informal dialogue with the ECB last week to explore the feasibility of tweaking the schedule of the five-Test series between England and India, which will be played between Aug.4 and Sept.014.
Negotiations are still going on between the cricket boards of India and England to work out the details and logistics but there has been no official request or letter from the BCCI to the ECB to change the itinerary for the five-Test series in August.
IPL 2021 was postponed on May 4 after 6 players, 2 support staff members and a bus cleaner tested positive for coronavirus. Only 29 matches were played in the 60-game league till May 2.
Notably, the entire tournament was played in the UAE last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in India.
Post-Covid effects taking bigger toll on me, says Warrier: The after-effects of Covid-19 are more taxing than virus itself, said fast bowler Sandeep Warrier who was one of four Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players sent to isolation after testing positive for coronavirus.
“Covid effect was not very high, but I feel the post-Covid [phase] has affected me quite a bit. I have been training for the last one week, and that alone is taking a toll on me,” Warrier said.
“Before Covid, when I was with the KKR team, training was not difficult. I guess it will take a week or so more to be back on track. During Covid, I didn’t have many symptoms. After that, after I started training, breathing was a bit difficult. I was getting tired easily, I’m still recovering from training perspective,” he told News18.
Warrier’s fellow pace bowler M Prasidh Krishna, spinner Varun Chakravarthy and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert were the other KKR players who tested positive.
The Kerala pacer said even though his first test had come negative, he was feeling the symptoms. His wife, who is a doctor and had contracted Covid-19, told him to expect a positive result in the next test.
“On May 2, we had an RT-PCR test. That morning itself, I was not feeling well. So I quarantined myself after informing KKR. That test came negative for me, I guess it came positive for Varun Chakravarthy. He was quarantined on another floor. Since I was negative I thought it will be just a normal viral fever,” he said.
“But since Varun came positive, we took another test, and I turned positive. By then, I had realised it was Covid because my wife (Aarthi) is a doctor. She told me you have Covid, and the next test result will be positive for sure. She had Covid six-seven months back. She had the same symptoms. She saw me on a video call and knew it was Covid. I informed that to the team doctor. The next test was positive, and they took me to the non-bubble floor,” said Warrier.
Agencies
