England has recently pulled off a great escape against the Pakistani. The English soil seems to be leading the road for the revival of cricketing spells throughout the world. The world’s most populous cricketing nation is planning to kickstart the action with its premiere cricket league – Indian Premier League nearly a month far.
The domestic arena for cricketers has received an update recently. In recent reports, it is suggested that Mushtaq Ali Trophy is round to begin in November. The recent draft schedule has no plans for any ODI action. As per PTI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering November 19 as the date for resuming the domestic season of men’s domestic cricket action.
It is interesting to note that Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy is the domestic tournament for the shortest version and many Indian players returning from the IPL might have to miss the starting days due to the quarantine protocols amidst a global pandemic.
On women’s cricket, we have input from ESPNCricinfo that suggests the schedule for senior women’s team will have both 50-over and 20-over games. The reports, as expected, hint a lesser number of games than the 2019-20 season. The starting date, as planned tentatively, is 1st November with April 12 being the end day. Further, there will be a total of 38 teams in both Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Women’s T20 leagues.
Moreover, reports have suggested that the matches for each group will be organized on two different grounds but in one city. The pandemic made sure that a healthy delay is seen at the start of domestic matches in the country. With Ranji Trophy and Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the number of events to be added along these two are less.
There are no proposals or even mention of Vijay Hazare Trophy, Duleep Trophy, or Challenger Series. Further, the Irani Cup is nowhere in contention as well. A senior official in BCCI told PTI that “This is a tentative list that has been prepared and it has gone for approval of president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah”.
There are speculations that BCCI would look to get the 2021 edition of IPL in the summers only. A three-week window is mandatory in between the Ranji final and the start of the Indian Premier League next year. With a lot on the plate, BCCI and cricket administrators in India have to ensure that women cricketers don’t feel discriminated in any manner. Pandemic shall not be an excuse for delays that don’t seem rational.
Women’s Domestic Schedule (tentative)
One Day league (17 November 2020 – 12 April 2021)
T20 League (1 November – 20 November 2020)
U23 One Day league (30 November – 23 December 2021)
U23 T20 League (27 January 2021 – 15 February 2021)
U19 One Day League (29 December 2021 – 21 January 2021)
U19 T20 Trophy (21 February 2021 – 11 March 2021)
Source: PTI
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