IPL 2021: Mark Butcher says ECB should have accepted BCCI's request and have MSD, Kohli playing in the 'Hundred' in exchange
Former England opener Mark Butcher felt the ECB should have agreed to the BCCI’s request to tweak the India-England Test series schedule in order to make some room for the IPL. He claimed the move would have given the ECB leverage to get Indian players to participate in the "Hundred" tournament.
Previously, the BCCI had requested for the five-match Test series between the two sides to be moved by a week so as to fit in the 31 remaining IPL games. However, there was no positive response from the England board.
According to Butcher, this was a missed opportunity for the ECB.
“Well, listen. I take a deep breath here … as does the nation,” Butcher said on the latest Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast. “I think it’s a massive missed opportunity.”
Agree to BCCI's IPL window in exchange for MSD, Kohli: Butcher
Butcher said accepting BCCI's request would have given the ECB a chance to get top Indian cricketers such as Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni for the "The Hundred" tournament.
“…the ECB is absolutely desperate to make this work. They have to be, they have bet the house on The Hundred, but at every turn, it seems a greater power doesn’t want it to happen.
“And so for me, this was the opportunity where you’ll say ‘Okay, we’ll bite the bullet… We would do this for the BCCI on the proviso that we get Kohli, Dhoni, whoever we like, signed up for three years to play in The Hundred, starting 2022’,” Butcher added.
The inaugural edition of "The Hundred," a 100-ball tournament involving eight men’s and women’s teams, was scheduled to take place in 2020, but was delayed due to the pandemic.
Under the circumstances, Butcher believes the ECB was in a glorious position to take advantage of being in the driver's seat.
“And you have leverage for the first time ever: you have something that they need, that they want. Obviously, the BCCI will lose a lot of money if they don’t get the IPL in the window,” Butcher said.
The IPL was suspended earlier this month after multiple COVID-19 cases were reported inside its bio-bubble that saw players and personnel of many teams test positive.
According to a senior BCCI official, the IPL will now resume tentatively on September 18 or 19 in the UAE.