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'Money talks at the end of the day': Mark Butcher explains whether IPL 2021 can be hosted later this year
Mark Butcher, the former England batsman, provides his take on whether the BCCI can stage the remainder of the IPL 2021 this year.
With the IPL 2021 suspended postponed, the BCCI is scurrying through the calendar year, trying to find a suitable window to host the remainder of the IPL. Earlier this week, due to several players testing positive for Covid-19, the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League was suspended indefinitely, and despite a packed cricketing calendar that includes a T20 World Cup later this year, the challenge for the BCCI is to stage the remaining matches without coinciding with other teams' schedule.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said that if the IPL cannot be completed, we are looking at a loss of an estimate of around INR 2500 crore. An amount as big as that will surely push the BCCI to look a certain slots. However, Mark Butcher, the former England batsman feels conducting the IPL this year is not possible given the T20 World Cup and the other assignments that lie ahead for all international teams. Butcher just doesn't see a potential vacant space for the tournament to be staged.
"The thought going forward is going to be 'How do we finish the IPL 2021'? And my thinking is I don't think you can. The T20 World Cup will hopefully be in India in October. The Indian cricket team is going to be in England… June, July August. All international sides will have their warm-ups, matches, tour etc. in preparation for the World Cup. And then the international calendar rolls on," Butcher told Cricket.com
"There simply isn't room to shoehorn the remaining group games and the Playoffs. As much as we have tried to juggle the cricketing calendar, at some point we have to say no this time and allow a bit of breathing space. It's great shame, great pity, but we'll see you next year hopefully when things are a little bit back to normal."
One window that the BCCI has its eyes set on is September. By then, the Indian team would have completed playing the five-Test series against England and several counties from the country have in fact proposed to host the IPL. The BCCI has in the past had its way with the IPL, but this time around, Butcher feels the mandatory quarantine rules along with other factors will make it difficult for the board to host the remaining matches of IPL 2021.
"Money talks at the end of the day, but as I said, the rest of the international teams have got schedules and build-up to the World Cup. And you have to factor in that it isn't about just flying in to play the matches. You have to quarantine when you get there and get back," said Butcher.
"There isn't time, unless we create a couple of extra weeks in the calendar, I don't see how it can be done and allow everyone to comfortably and reasonably to do the preparations that they had planned for an important tournament."
