D-Day is here! Date of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League has been announced. The richest cricket league on the planet will see the opening match on March 22 – GT vs CSK – next month. But fans are worried about the fixtures as the schedule of the biggest non-ICC cricketing tournament will clash with the most important national event of the year – the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. So, what’s the game plan of the IPL governing council?
In a media interaction on Tuesday, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal had said that the entire roster of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier league will be split into two halves. While the first half is likely to be announced soon, the second half will be announced only after the Election Commission of India declares the dates of the general election.
There’s a strong buzz that the poll panel will make the key announcement on March 10 next month. It should be noted that in 2019 also, the EC had announced the dates of the Lok Sabha elections on March 10.
This means that the second half of the IPL 17 roster will be announced only after March 10.
While Dhumal maintains that the IPL is in contact with the government agencies, cricket lovers will remember how the Lok Sabha polls had forced the cricket body to shift the matches overseas.
In 2009, the IPL schedule clashed with the General Elections dates. At that time, despite repeated pleas of the BCCI, the entire season of IPL was played in South Africa. At that time BCCI boss Shashank Manohar had said that two states – Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra had expressed their inability in providing the security for the teams. He had said that the ‘attitude’ of the two state governments had forced the cricket body to move IPL overseas.
In 2014 also, there was again a clash between LS polls and IPL matches. Back then, half of the matches were played in India but the rest of the season was played in the UAE. The 2014 Lok Sabha elections were held in nine phases from April 7 to May 12. Due to this, the government had told the IPL governing council that it would be able to provide security for the matches.
Latest reports say that the poll officials will conclude there state-wise survey till March 13. This means that the crucial announcement regarding the Lok Sabha polls will be held after this date. As far as the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections is concerned, the speculations are rife that it will be held some time in mid- April after all boards exams conclude.