Monday, 6 July 2020:
Cricket's superpower will no longer wait for clarity on this year's schedule, suggesting it must now draw up plans for an Indian Premier League that is tipped to start in late September.
It is no secret the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been desperate to stage its lucrative domestic Twenty20 tournament, worth $820 million in revenue, later this year.
The T20 World Cup is slated to run from October 18 until November 15 in Australia, but there remains widespread doubt as to whether that event will proceed.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, which was set to host the T20 World Cup final and some pool games, has only heightened expectations that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will soon postpone or cancel the global tournament.
The BCCI had previously noted it wanted to wait and see what the ICC decides this month - and whether the World Cup window became vacant - before making a call on the IPL.
But BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal's patience has reached its limit and a schedule clash between the start of Australia's domestic season and the IPL now appears imminent.
"Those announcements and outcomes are not in our hands," Dhumal told The Times of India.
"The T20 World Cup, for instance, is being postponed so let the announcement come when it has to.
"It is time for the BCCI to start planning for the year ahead.
"What BCCI is talking about is the need to make contingency plans from September."
Dhumal argued domestic leagues had become the priority for sports around the world as they emerged from COVID-19 lockdown, adding "the Olympics and the World Cups are taking a back seat".
Dhumal's comments follow India reporting a daily increase of almost 25,000 coronavirus cases.
It is the single biggest COVID-19 spike in the populous nation, which now ranks as the world's third-worst affected country in terms of total cases.
It is likely the IPL, should it be staged this year, will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates or Sri Lanka.
Pat Cummins, who was sold for a record 155 million Indian rupees ($A3.2 million) at last year's IPL auction, headlines the list of Australians with a vested interest in the league.
Cricket Australia is yet to indicate whether it would release players for the IPL if it clashes with the local domestic season, the schedule for which is expected to be released soon.
Former Test skipper Ian Chappell has suggested players on CA contracts should stay and play domestic cricket at home, but the governing body would risk raising the ire of both the BCCI and its star players if it took a hardline stance.
