There are practical problems in staging and completing the league, halted due to Covid, before or after the T20 World Cup.It was supposed to be an IPL that would fetch BCCI bigger sponsorships than ever before, beating the virulence of the virus and the pessimism surrounding it. In 2020, when IPL went to the UAE, the cricket board had lost title sponsors Vivo, filled the slot with value halved, barely retained three official partners and had to make do with an approximate sponsorship of R400 crore.
This year, Vivo was back, BCCI had five official partners and was expected to make a record R700 crore plus from sponsorships. Add the massive R3,270 crore annual broadcast deal and this was to be a bumper IPL despite the pandemic.
But with the virus creeping inside the IPL bio-bubble and the season postponed midway, there is a fear now that almost half of the R4,000 crore BCCI would have made may never come into its kitty. The franchises that share 40 % of these proceeds will take a proportionate hit, and player salaries will be halved.
A day after the league was put off after more positives ,chairman Brijesh Patel conveyed that “Unless the Indian board finds an alternative window this year,we will take a call later if we can find a window to complete IPL”.
Two possible windows to play the rest of IPL being spoken are before (in September) or after (in late November-December) the World Cup. With IPL revenues making 60 % of BCCI coffers, it will get precedence over any Indian bilateral series. Even after a venue is identified, at home if the virus recedes, or at the UAE, the availability of international players remains central to the success of the league. 17 Australians, 12 players from England, 10 New Zealanders and South Africans and nine from West Indies were the major overseas players in the league.
The problem with the post-World Cup window is that it clashes with the Ashes, which would rule out all big-ticket multi-format players from Australia and England.
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