Rescheduling the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to the COVID-19 pandemic has not only resulted in a truncated domestic season but is also bound to hit a majority of teams hard when it comes to preparing for the season, especially for the shortened limited-over leg.
The BCCI is hoping to start the domestic season with the Mushtaq Ali Trophy on November 19, after the IPL final in the United Arab Emirates on November 10.
As a result, domestic teams’ preparation will be severely affected ahead of the season, even if you don’t take into account India regulars. Quite a few State teams are unsure whether their seniors will be able to participate in the inter-State T20 tournament, since they may be asked to be in quarantine after returning from the IPL.
The defending champion Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Gujarat, Punjab and Saurashtra are set to miss their captain for the preparatory phase. Add to that the absence of some of the performers on the domestic circuit who are being flown to UAE as net bowlers and the domestic teams suffer even more.
In fact, Gujarat and Uttarakhand are going to have to deal with a double blow since their head coach will be away in UAE. Former Test cricketer Sairaj Bahutule, who has taken over as Gujarat’s head coach, is the assistant coach of Rajasthan Royals, while former India opener Wasim Jaffer is Kings XI Punjab’s batting coach and the head coach of Uttarakhand.
“It is going to be challenging but I have been keeping in touch with the cricketers and the assistant coach over video-conferencing and will continue to do so from UAE. Since it usually rains in Dehradun much longer than most other regions, hopefully, the boys can resume outdoor nets soon, pandemic permitting,” Jaffer told The Hindu .
