IPL 2021: "I just don't see where the gap is" - Michael Atherton on restarting the tournament this year
Michael Atherton believes that resuming the IPL 2021 later this year will be an arduous task in terms of logistics. The former England skipper reasoned that there are no 'gaps' in the tightly-packed international calendar to fit a tournament as gargantuan as the IPL.
The 14th edition of the IPL was suspended because of multiple players testing positive for COVID-19 in the tournament's bio-secure bubble.
Authorities are reportedly mulling restarting the IPL in September. However, with the World Test Championship final, a 5-Test series against England and a few T20I series lined up before the start of the T20 World Cup in October, such a scenario seems unlikely.
Michael Atherton speculated that the World Cup could move to the UAE to squeeze in the IPL.
“I just don’t see where the gap [in the schedule] is. India will come to England for five Test matches in the summer — and that ends around mid-September. Then the T20 World Cup, which is supposed to be in India – but who knows, they may have to move that tournament to the UAE — takes place in mid-October,” Michael Atherton told Sky Sports.
“The IPL is obviously worth a lot of money to the global game – I think it brings in a third of the game’s global revenue – so people will be keen to see it staged. But the logistics are very tricky for the tournament now,” he added.
The WTC final will be played between June 18 - 23 in Southampton. Following this, the Test series against Joe Root's side will begin on August 4th and conclude in September.
The BCCI was also in talks with the South African and New Zealand cricket boards about staging a couple of T20I series ahead of the World Cup. These bilateral competitions will suffer if the IPL is squeezed in before the marquee tournament.
The IPL has players from all over the world: Michael Atherton
Michael Atherton argued that even if there is time to stage the IPL, summoning overseas stars back to the tournament would be a significant roadblock. Atherton added that the IPL authorities will also have to convince Indian players to spend more time in the taxing bio-bubbles.
“It is a logistical challenge. The IPL not only has a high number of domestic Indian players but players from all around the world. There is maybe a gap there, but all countries will already have their pre-T20 World Cup preparations baked in now," said Michael Atherton.
"England are due to go to Bangladesh and Pakistan, for example — and you’re also asking India’s players, who have spent long, long periods inside these bubbles to spend more time in one, it seems hard to me,” Michael Atherton concluded.