Scheduling nightmare for West Indies cricket as Indian Premier League targets September restart

CRICKET West Indies and the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will have a challenging time in making changes to an already tight schedule in order to allow the West Indies players to arrive in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the resumption of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL).

The IPL was brought to a halt at the midway point of the tournament on May 4 after a surge in covid19 cases and deaths in India. Players and officials also tested positive.

The nine West Indies players in the tournament returned to the Caribbean within days including Trinidad and Tobago quartet Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran and Dwayne Bravo. The other West Indies players who were featuring in the IPL were Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Gayle and Fabian Allen.

The CPL is currently scheduled to be held from August 28-September 19 in St Kitts, therefore many CPL players may not arrive in time for the resumption of the IPL on September 18. Other international players also compete in both the CPL and IPL.

A espncricinfo story on Tuesday, said, “The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is honing in on the possibility of conducting the second half of IPL 2021 in the UAE in a window between September 18 and October 12. For that to happen, however, it would require a rejigging of various boards' calendars, not least the CPL which is scheduled to start on August 28.”

If the IPL ends on October 12 it will be a week before the start of the T20 World Cup, which may be held in UAE.

It is difficult for the CPL to start earlier as South Africa, Australia and Pakistan will all visit the Caribbean between June and August.

West Indies will play South Africa in Test matches and T20 matches from June 10-July 3, followed by T20s and 50-over matches against Australia from July 9-July 24.

West Indies will end a busy period at home against Pakistan from July 27-August 24 in T20 matches followed by a Test series.

The story on espncricinfo said discussions between the BCCI and CPL have started concerning the schedule. “West Indian players are a significant part of the IPL and the clash of dates has forced the BCCI to open discussions with the CPL, asking whether it can tweak its itinerary to allow enough time for players to travel to the UAE for the IPL.”

The BCCI has also started talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board. India and England are carded to play a five-match Test series in England from August 4-September 14. Efforts are being made to end the series earlier to give the players ample time to travel to the UAE for the resumption of the IPL on September 18.

Newsday tried to contact CWI CEO Johnny Grave and head of public relations and communications at CPL Peter Miller but attempts proved futile.