CPL organisers expect 'powerful' BCCI not to usurp their window while rescheduling IPL
London: Pete Russell, the Chief Operations Officer of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has said that the organisers of the tournament would not want their event to clash with the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After IPL was indefinitely suspended consequent to the nationwide lockdown in India being extended till May 3, some have suggested that the tournament could be staged in September or October.
"We would not go up against it. While I know the BCCI is all-powerful in these things, there has to be some sensible consideration around what players and other leagues are doing. I think IPL would want all the West Indian players to be playing in their tournament," ESPNCricinfo quoted Russell as saying.
"It wouldn't make sense for them to organise IPL at the same time as CPL when a lot of their stars are playing with us. That would defeat the objective. They can figure out their own window, for sure," he said.
Talking about the contingency plan being worked out to go ahead with the CPL, Russell said, "It's good that the Caribbean has locked down early and it hasn't been hit in the same way as the UK, for example. We are looking at different permutations in terms of what could or couldn't happen. But the lucky thing is that we've got a bit of time -- we don't have to force a decision."
"I don't think there's any question whether we'll be able to play it. However, we are only going to play if it's safe to do so, but we have been approached by a lot of countries that want it to happen. The reason for that is that it's a big sporting event, and it could act as a sign or a marker that the Caribbean is open for business again."
The organisers are also drawing up plans to hold games while maintaining social distancing within a stadium, a situation that would involve all players staying in the same hotels.
"That's what people are going to have to look at -- how would a stadium look if you were to follow all the guidelines on social distancing? Of course, it's doable. For instance, in Barbados, we would probably be able to do a social-distancing stadium and it could be at 25 per cent capacity -- there's a lot of organisation that goes into that, but it's viable," Russell said.
"The player side is the important bit. It could be that CPL is played without international players this year, and there's enough Caribbean talent to play without if we have to -- that's not our preferred option, but it's doable," he further said.
