CHENNAI: IPL done. It’s time for BCCI to shift focus on cricket in India. A Test series against England from February and domestic events, there is a lot to do if everything is to be held in bio-secure environments. BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal is confident this can be done if the Covid-19 situation does not get worse. This confidence comes from the successful staging of IPL.
“IPL was more challenging than other events across the globe because of the duration and the number of individuals involved. I think everybody associated with sport appreciates what we have done. The world of sports was not sure how to go about things when the pandemic hit. Under such circumstances, to stage IPL without difficulties was an achievement. We thank the government agencies, franchises and everybody else,” Dhumal told this daily on Monday.
Staging IPL was crucial for BCCI, which gets around RS 3200 crore annually from the broadcasters. The board lost nearly `300 crore due to cancellation of matches against South Africa and England in India due to the pandemic. Boards in other countries also suffered because of cancellations. “The entire cricket world was affected by the cancellation of bilateral series. Revenues were hit hard.
We would have been in a difficult position had the IPL not taken place this year. We had to find a way, for the money IPL generates is transferred to the benefit of cricket and cricketers,” opined Dhumal, who was in the UAE at different stages of the IPL. Successful staging of IPL is a feather in the cap for BCCI, but it has no time to rest on its laurels, considering the task that lies ahead. “It will be a huge challenge to host England and conduct domestic events simultaneously.
We are hoping the situation doesn’t worsen. We are monitoring things and working on different models. Can’t elaborate at this stage, but there are different plans. Depending on the situation when matches are scheduled, we will take the best possible step. We can definitely pull it off (England series and domestic cricket),” Dhumal said. A decision on domestic events will be taken at the board’s annual general meeting, which has to be held before December 31.
As far as the BCCI’s member associations are concerned, most of them want to have Ranji Trophy first, while some are in favour of having the Mushtaq Ali T20s before the IPL auction (tentatively in February). If Ranji Trophy starts in January, it may not be possible to have the T20s before the auction.
“These decisions are still to be taken. Personally, I would like to prioritise Ranji Trophy because that is our premier domestic tournament. On top of that, we would like to have whatever other tournament the situation permits. At this stage, it’s not possible to say if the T20s will be held before the auction,” said the treasurer.