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General elections may force T20 League to take a break
There have been many dissenting voices that feel the Indian T20 league needs to be halted for a season and cleaned up. There is strong chance that it could turn out to be that way, not by design but due to the situation. HT reports.
There have been many dissenting voices that feel the Indian T20 league needs to be halted for a season and cleaned up.
There is strong chance that it could turn out to be that way, not by design but due to the situation.
The cricket board faces a situation similar to the one in the second edition, 2009, when the tournament coincided with the nation’s general elections.
Summer slam
So far, the league has been played in April and May. And, in all probability, the board may not be able stick to its schedule in 2014 as the five-year term of the Parliament ends.
The Election Commission will decide the dates and generally May is the month for the elections.
In 2009, the board was forced to shift the tournament to South Africa at the last minute. P Chidambaram was the home minister then, and he said the government was not in a position to provide security to the league due to elections.
Conspiracy-theorists said the T20 League chairman, Lalit Modi, was inclined towards BJP and hence didn’t get support from the ruling Congress government.
The situation was expected to be different this time as Congressman Rajeev Shukla could have got more support from the Centre. But, Shukla has resigned as the league chairman, and as a consequence the tournament is now left to its fate.
