BCCI in talks with West Indies to prepone CPL to avoid clash with IPL

The BCCI is attempting to persuade Cricket West Indies to move the commencement of the Caribbean Premier League forward by a week or ten days in order to facilitate a smooth bubble-to-bubble transition of players in time for the IPL’s return to the UAE in September. 

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The BCCI on Saturday confirmed the lucrative Indian Premier League’s comeback in the UAE in the middle of September, after it was suspended midway through its 14th season because of the COVID-19 outbreak in India.

The CPL will begin on August 28 and conclude on September 19, while the IPL will likely run from September 18 to October 10, giving the players little time to acclimate properly.

“We are in talks with Cricket West Indies. We are hoping that if CPL can be finished a few days in advance, it would help in bubble to bubble transfer of all players to Dubai and in time to complete the mandatory three-day quarantine,” a BCCI source, privy to the development, told PTI on Sunday.

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If the BCCI and CWI are unable to come to a consensus on dates, several of the most important players may miss the opening few games or maybe the whole first half of the IPL.

The CPL will be in its ninth season, and it will include some of the game’s best names from across the world.

Mumbai Indians’ five-time IPL-winning prominent all-rounder Kieron Pollard, swaggering Chris Gayle, experienced all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, Fabien Allen, Keemo Paul, Sunil Narine, and Trinidad and Tobago coach Brendon McCullum, who is also the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, are among the major names entangled in both T20 leagues. 

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The BCCI’s SGM on Saturday authorized the IPL’s return, less than a month after the competition was stopped due to COVID-19 instances in its bio-bubble.