Sourav Ganguly promises IPL 2021 in April-May, BCCI will host England and domestic cricket in India

The final stages of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League are underway in the UAE and no wonder the BCCI is incredibly proud of its success amid the coronavirus-induced pandemic. IPL 2020 was originally scheduled to start on March 29 in India but finally started on September 19 in the UAE.

IPL 2020 concludes on November 10, with the final being on that day, and the anticipation for the next season has already begun. Needless to say, the upcoming season of the IPL won’t be as delayed as it was this year, due to the unforeseen circumstances.

BCCI President Ganguly, speaking to India Today Sports Consulting Editor, Boria Majumdar in the latest episode of India Today Inspiration, said that the IPL 2021 season would be staged in April and May and of what we understand, the venue will be India as Ganguly assured that UAE was just a one-off arrangement for IPL 2020 alone.

“Yeah, absolutely. April, May we’ll have another one [IPL 2021 season],” Ganguly told India Today.

“No, no it’s not true [the speculations]. The UAE was only for the IPL. Yeah, yeah. We will host England in India. We will host the domestic cricket in India. Ranji Trophy, we will create bio bubble and we will do it.

“We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. ISL starting in November in Goa, we’ll be fine. The scare, that is not there anymore and the IPL has helped a lot,” Ganguly added.

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2020) concluded just a little more than a week before the



IPL 2020 started. Many IPL bound players and staff including Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Brendon McCullum, flew to the UAE from the Caribbean.

The CPL is famous for its explosive batsmen and the energy that the T20 tournament brings. However, the BCCI President pointed out that somehow the IPL is able to trump all other T20 leagues across the globe with its quality.

“Yeah absolutely, it’s the quality of cricket [in the IPL], it’s the madness about cricket in this country. It’s the fans who actually make it successful. And the competition. It’s the quality of player, you go around and see the leagues in the world and I respect them, but this is different [the IPL],” Ganguly upheld the quality in the IPL.

“This is...you see a Pollard, you see a Pollard turning up in the Caribbean Premier League and a Pollard turning up in the IPL - it’s two different kettle of fish. His captaincy has been outstanding for Mumbai [Indians] without Rohit Sharma. You see a de Villiers at this age [of 36].”

“See the competition, the owners are obsessed with their teams. They are just obsessed with their IPL team. I remember when this COVID was going on and I used to get calls from the owners ‘we must do the IPL’ and ‘how can IPL not happen’ but I said ‘we have to look at the coronavirus’ but he said ‘no no everything will be fine but IPL has to happen, we’ll die without cricket’ - so it’s that intensity which is remarkable,” Gnaguly said about how much these franchises mean to their owners.