The IPL 2021 has seen some major developments in the wake of the coronavirus situation and one of the options seems to be that the tournament could move totally to Mumbai.
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The IPL 2021 is hit with the coronavirus pandemic at the half-way stage. Kolkata Knight Riders’ match against Royal Challengers Bangalore was postponed when Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier tested positive for COVID-19. On the same day two KKR players tested positive, some staff members of the Chennai Super Kings team, including bowling coach L Balaji have also tested positive for COVID-19.
With more reports of coronavirus cases emerging, the BCCI is now planning a big move for IPL 2021. According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the BCCI is planning to move the entire IPL to Mumbai. The move could happen this weekend. Mumbai has three cricket grounds which will make travel less problematic. The Wankhede stadium, Brabourne Stadium, Bandra Kurla Complex ground and DY Patil stadiums are the venues.
The second reason is that Mumbai and Maharashtra is now seeing a dip in cases. On Monday, there were 48,621 cases in Maharashtra but in Mumbai, there was only 2200 cases. In April, there were 11,000 cases in Mumbai.
The next leg of the IPL will take place in Bengaluru and Kolkata. However, Bengaluru is a current COVID-19 hotspot with a large number of cases. In Kolkata, the situation is no worse. The active coronavirus cases in West Bengal and Karnataka has forced the BCCI and the franchises to apparently reconsider travel.
There are reports that the final could be extended beyond May 30 to the first week of June. With one match being postponed, there might be multiple double-headers in place for the coming weeks. However, there is one logistical problem in extending the final.
The ICC World Test Championship final, which will be played between India and New Zealand in Southampton, is from June 18 to 22. If the final is extended till the first week of June, there could be quarantine issues. The ICC is reportedly negotiating with the British Government for some quarantine exemptions for both India and New Zealand players in the IPL.
Currently, the United Kingdom has put India on a red list which prohibits travel. Anybody who comes from India to the United Kingdom must undergo a 10-day hotel quarantine.
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