The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 amid a rising number of Covid-19 cases among players and support staff in the last few days. As many as 29 league games were played this season.
The 30th match was supposed to be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, it got rescheduled on Monday after KKR duo Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier tested positive.
Then, on Tuesday, few hours before the clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI), SRH wicketkeeper-batsman Wridhimman Saha tested positive for coronavirus. Later, veteran spinner Amit Mishra, who ply his trade with Delhi Capitals (DC) and Michael Hussey, the batting coach of CSK, also tested positive for the deadly disease.
“The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect,” IPL said in an official statement.
“The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and wellbeing of all the stakeholders in mind. The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the big question that arises in this situation is how would BCCI pay all players who were part of IPL 2021. The answer to this question is hidden in the policy of the IPL contract. According to the terms of the IPL contract, the players get their salaries in 3 equal instalments.
The first instalment was paid at the commencement of the tournament, but the remaining two portions will be put on hold till the conclusion of the fourteenth season of the cash-rich league. As per the latest reports, the BCCI is exploring some options to reschedule the remaining fixtures of the IPL 2021 in September.
The staging of IPL 2021 remainder will be done, keeping the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in mind. The mega event is scheduled to take place in October later this year in India, but it might not happen considering the current situation in the country. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is likely to be a backup venue for both the events as IPL 2020 was successfully carried out there.
