Ipl restart final to be pushed back players asked to reassemble

Ipl restart final to be pushed back players asked to reassemble

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to extend its IPL till May 30 when the tournament resumes after the suspension. The BCCI is contemplating to host the remaining matches in the three venues — Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad from May 16. The new schedule will be released to the IPL franchise by Sunday night even as few of them have expressed their concern about the availability of their overseas players who have all flown back home.

‘As the IPL was suspended for a week, there is a possibility of the IPL final now being played on May 30 instead of May 25 with limited venues. The schedule will be sent to all IPL teams by tonight,’ source in the BCCI informed.

The BCCI has already asked all the teams, except Punjab Kings, to report to their respective venues by Tuesday so that it can resume the IPL by Friday. The BCCI also has informed the franchises to inform their foreign players about their travel plans.

Most of the overseas players and support staff left for their home on Friday after the BCCI officially suspended the IPL. Now, the franchises are making arrangements to fly them back. With 12 matches remaining , the BCCI at least needs two weeks to complete the remaining matches as the play-offs and the final at least need 6 days. And given they now have only two weeks to complete the tournament, more double headers are being planned.

‘All franchises have been told to inform its team to report to their respective destination by Tuesday,’ a source in the Indian board confirmed.

IPL chairman Arun Dhumal had told this paper that they are looking at the possibility of starting the suspended IPL ‘immediately’ after India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire on Saturday.

‘Ceasefire has just been announced. We now explore the possibility of resuming and concluding the IPL. If it is possible to conduct it immediately… We need to work out the venue dates and everything, and we would now be speaking to all the stakeholders, including team owners, broadcasters, and everyone involved and find a way as to how to move forward. Most importantly, we will have to consult with the government,’ Dhumal had told The Indian Express.

The Indian board had earlier shortlisted Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad as venues for the remaining IPL games after the BCCI had abruptly suspended the IPL on Friday due to the border tension between India and Pakistan. However, the final decision on the venues will be taken after consulting the government.

On Thursday, the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala was called off due to security reasons. This was after the floodlights at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala went off. Dhumal had said that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure.