Ravi Shastri bats for IPL and bilateral series when cricket resumes

Indian head coach Ravi Shastri wants to give priority to the Indian Premier League and bilateral series once cricket resumes after the pandemic situation. Shastri feels the ICC and other cricket boards should put the T20 World Cup on the back burner. The former Indian all-rounder feels it is prudent that only one team flies to a particular country rather than 15 teams in these testing times.

Shastri believes the IPL or any bilateral series can be hosted in two cities, which will help in managing the logistics. The less players and staff will travel from one place to the other, the better it would be in the coming time.

It is imperative for the ICC as well as the other boards to plan in the right direction and make their plans according to the situation while taking into account all the precautions which are the need of the hour.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in Australia from October 18 but it can be postponed to next year in the given pandemic situation. It will not be easy to manage logistically and the cricket boards might also oppose the idea because of the monetary losses they have incurred.

“I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on world events right now,” he said. “Stay at home, ensure domestic cricket comes back to normal, cricketers at all levels — international, First Class, etc — all get back on the field. That’s the most important bit. Second: Start with bilateral cricket. If we (India) had to choose between hosting a World Cup and a bilateral tour, obviously, we’d settle for the bilateral. Instead of 15 teams flying in, we’d settle for one team flying in and playing an entire bilateral series at just one or two grounds.”

On the other hand, BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal had also recently said that the focus will be on bilateral series once the situation improves in order to make up for the monetary losses the Indian board has incurred during these times. Dhumal had revealed that the Indian board will lose a whopping amount of INR 4000 crores if it is unable to host the IPL.

It is expected that the bilateral series or the IPL (if it happens) will be played in a handful of venues with no crowd engagement.

“In that sense, what India’s lost out on is domestic cricket — the Indian Premier League (IPL) for instance,” he said. “When cricket resumes, we could give the IPL a priority. The difference between an international tournament and the IPL is that the IPL can be played between one or two cities and the logistics will be easier to manage. The same thing with bilaterals — it’ll be easier for us to tour one country and play there at specific grounds than 15-16 teams flying in during these times. The International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to look at this objectively.”

There is a lot of uncertainty in the current scenario. The IPL was expected to begin from March 29 but it has been postponed indefinitely by the BCCI.

The cricketing world is trying to creep its way back and it is going to be a tricky situation for every board.