It will be possible for both the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be held without overlapping one another thanks to an agreement arrived at by Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Board of Control for Cricket Indian (BCCI). Earlier, the BCCI had requested the organisers of the CPL to advance the dates of the CPL so as to allow the Indian cricket board to squeeze the IPL schedule into the narrow window available after September 14, the day the Indian team is set to complete the England tour. The CPL organisers have acceded to the request of the governing body of Indian cricket.
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BCCI Secretary Initiates Talks
The BCCI secretary Jay Shah spoke with Pete Russell the COO of the CPL before the agreement between the CPL authorities and the BCCI regarding the new arrangement. Jay Shah is also reported to have conferred with his CPL counterparts, paving the way for the cricket authorities in the Caribbean to consent to tweak the schedule of the CPL.
President Ricky Skerritt of CWI Weighs In
According to a statement to the media by Ricky Skerritt, the president of Cricket West Indies, who confirmed the tweaking of the schedule, “CWI is doing our best to help facilitate a smooth transition from CPL to IPL, without a conflicting overlap.”
<CPL to Begin After End of Pakistan Tour of West Indies
The CPL has reportedly been rescheduled to start on 25 August and finish on 15 September, allowing the second leg of the IPL to begin around 18 September. The CPL was originally scheduled to begin on 28 August and end on 19 September. According to an announcement by the organisers on 27 April, the competition consisting of 33 matches would begin on 28 August in St Kitts and Nevis. Before the start of the CPL, Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies will be over, with the second Test match scheduled to end on 24 August. So, the CPL could even begin on 26 August, allowing for a gap of more than 24 hours between the Test match and the domestic league tournament in the Caribbean. A revised schedule of the CPL is expected to be announced soon.
<Liberal Quarantine Norms for Vaccinated Visitors to CPL Venue
Logistics work related to the CPL is reportedly being done by the organisers of the competition. There will be a transition by West Indies players to respective franchise bubbles from the Test match bubble, just as in the case of the participants of The Hundred in the United Kingdom. August 21 will mark the end of England’s new 100-ball competition. The CPL authorities plan to relieve players transitioning from the Hundred bubble of having to satisfy quarantining requirements upon arrival in the West Indies, with the players expected to enjoy a facility of bubble-to-bubble transfer.
Being virtually covid-free, St Kitts Island is expected to extend relief from quarantine requirements for visitors coming in after two vaccine shots. Isolation of five days may have to be undergone by visitors without quarantine not transitioning from a bio-bubble. Meanwhile, a few more loose ends will have to be tied up by the BCCI before scheduling the dates for the 31 matches remaining to be played during the second leg of the IPL to be held in the UAE.