Barely few hours before the onset of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, there is very little talk about the probable champions or the possible winners of the Purple Cap or the Orange Cap. Instead, the BCCI and its various stakeholders are confronted with a monumental challenge of hosting the showpiece event in the backdrop of surging Covid-19 cases across the country.

“Hope we have a safe tournament and nothing happens during the 52-day event to be played across six venues,” has been the common refrain among franchise stakeholders. Their concern primarily stems from the several cases that have added up by the day, ranging from cricketers to franchise officials besides groundsmen and various other stakeholders.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has tried to calm nerves by assuring all concerned that there will be nothing to worry. “Even in the UAE last season, there were a few such incidents in the lead-up to the event but once the tournament started everything was fine,” the former India captain told The Telegraph last week.

But instances of cricketers and support staff testing positive inside the bio-bubble has added to the anxiety. Don’t forget the Pakistan Super League had to be postponed midway following detection of several Covid-19 positive cases last month.

The IPL will be held behind closed doors for the second year running but that isn’t enough to allay fears. Chennai, which will host the opener between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday, reported close to 4000 cases in the last 24 hours amid spiralling numbers elsewhere.

Mumbai, which will host Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals a day later, is the worst affected. Whether the cricketing implications outweigh the threat of the pandemic will remain a matter of much debate.

RCB’s AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli during practice session ahead of the IPL 2021 opener. Twitter / @RCBTweets

Lure of T20 Cup

This edition will be of significance not just for India, but also for players of other countries, who will be part of the T20 World Cup in India later this year. While the hosts look to fine tune their preparations or their final XI amid an abundance of riches, teams like England and South Africa will seek to groom their players in these conditions.

That is one of the prime reasons why the England and Wales Cricket Board have preferred cricketers playing in the IPL to Test matches at home while Cricket South Africa has allowed their players to skip the T20Is versus Pakistan at home.

It will not just be the Indian selectors who will keenly follow the IPL this time, but the goings-on will also help other teams to formulate their strategy against some of the stars. It will give them a perspective on what to expect and how to tackle a given situation during a match.

For Team India, it will not just be an opportunity to have another look at some of the lesser-knowns — like Varun Chakravarthy (KKR), Mohammed Siraj (RCB), T. Natarajan (Sunrisers) or Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan (MI) — it will also be a chance to settle their spin combination ahead of the ICC showpiece event.

Both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal struggled during the recent limited-overs series against England, thus throwing open a lot of possibilities. While Ravindra Jadeja is expected to fill one of the slots, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Ravichandran Ashwin is pitchforked into the shortest format on the back of an enterprising performance in the IPL.

Virat Kohli might put Ashwin’s chances behind Washington Sundar, but when it comes to picking wickets, the senior pro could go one-up on his statemate, at least in the Powerplay overs.

Chakravarthy could also again find himself in the Team India mix following another superlative show. Poor fitness had ruled him out of the series against England despite featuring in the squad.

Mumbai Indians’ Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma sweat it out at practice ahead of the IPL 2021 opener. Twitter / @mipaltan

Kohli vs Rohit

With no home matches for franchises this year, some teams will have to rework their strategies on spin-friendly conditions. Mumbai Indians, for one, have a pace-heavy attack and will have to tweak their game plan in some of the venues.

The Rohit Sharma versus Kohli captaincy debate will again be ignited if Mumbai Indians manage a hat-trick of titles. Rohit has won five titles as Mumbai Indians captain while under Kohli, RCB are yet to win the trophy even once. Rohit enjoys a 68-44 win-loss record against Kohli’s 55-63.

No wonder the argument will be revived if India fail to win the T20 World Cup this year.

The Telegraph

ICC eye

Not just the players, this edition will also be keenly followed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as it is expected to serve as a dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup. The ICC has already announced that “back-up plans” are in place if things go out of control.