Australian veteran Ian Chappell believes that the suspension of the 14th season (IPL 2021) of the Indian Premier League suggests that cricket is not impenetrable and it may see the T20 World Cup being postponed or moved. India is set to host the T20 World Cup in October-November this year.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Wriddhiman Saha, Delhi Capitals Amit Mishra and Kolkata Knight Riders, Varun Chakraborty, Sandeep Warrier, Tim Seifert, and the famous Krishna were found positive for COVID-19, despite a tight bio-safe environment.
“The suspension of the 2021 IPL tournament because of surging Covid infections and deaths among the public, and a number of participants testing positive, was a reminder of the game’s vulnerability,” Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo. “In the past, tours have been aborted and matches abandoned for a variety of reasons. Many of these involved backstories, some of which were tragic and others amusing,” he added.
“In the current disastrous climate, the suspension of the IPL could also produce a precedent. It may lead to the World T20 event, programmed for India later in the year, either being postponed or moved,” said Chappell.
India is still reeling from the second wave of COVID-19 and more than four lakh cases are being reported every day with nearly nearly four thousand deaths. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in India in October-November.
In the match, Colin “Ollie” Milburn had completed his second Test century after being recalled from Australia, where he had enjoyed a prolific Sheffield Shield season with Western Australia. In one innings he smoked a scintillating double-century against Queensland, where he scored a believe-it-or-not 180 runs in a single session. Milburn’s excellent Shield form and subsequent Test century looked to have cemented his spot in the England team, but sadly he never represented his country again. On returning home he was involved in a serious car accident which resulted in him losing sight in one eye. It was a sad end to the career of one of cricket’s great entertainers and characters, “he added.
“At the same ground in 2006, the fourth Test between England and Pakistan came to a premature end with many recriminations. Pakistan forfeited the match after refusing to take the field when the team was accused of ball-tampering and penalized five runs. more sheriffs than you’d find in the old American Wild West, the Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, could not be coaxed into taking his team back onto the field, “said Chappell.
“After a lengthy delay, the match was awarded to England on a forfeit. In a disgraceful attempt at compromise, the ICC subsequently declared the match a draw in 2008. However, integrity finally won out in 2009 when the decision was reversed at the behest of the MCC, who quite rightly claimed that to not uphold the laws set a dangerous precedent, “he added.
