It seems, the only sport which could see resumption in India is cricket. Just a few days after the completion of the Indian Premier League comes the news that India will host the ICC World T20 next year (2021).
For those guessing if this tournament is being held because of the cancellation of the event scheduled for 2020 in Australia, no, this is the tournament which has already been decided upon. The moot point is at a time when there has been no resumption of domestic cricket in India and no first class competition has been thought of, the planning is for next year (around October)!
It is good the BCCI bosses, Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah, are so concerned about their own image and want to hold the ICC event. Soon, you could even hear of fresh auction for the IPL to be played in 2021. The grapevine says the IPL auction could be held in December itself.
There is no doubting the popularity of IPL and T20 instant cricket but to kill domestic cricket, which is so important, is very painful. Everyone knows it is domestic cricket which is the breeding ground for nurturing talent and budding champions. If one is not going to see domestic cricket take place in India, then it is wrong.
Take for example the case of Australia. Despite the lockdown and the country closing its international borders, their domestic cricket season (Sheffield Shield) flourished and the performers have been picked for the forthcoming home tour.
It is sad when you have a former India captain like Ganguly heading the Indian cricket establishment, there is no thought process at all in place. If the Covid-19 scare is there, it is genuine. However, cricket in towns and cities has resumed, slowly.
What is stopping the BCCI from being proactive?
Is domestic cricket the unwanted child or does the BCCI think they can keep flogging the same talent in the IPL as well as an important tour like Australia.
As it is, Indian sports is in a state of inertia with no tournaments happening. The year has gone by and a whole crop of young athletes have been confined to the sidelines.
One thought, cricket, which is supposed to be a better run sport, would show the way. No, it has been the opposite. The focus is only on big bucks and big ticket events.
Mr. S. Kannan
Senior, Sports Journalist
