IPL 2019 will have an early start due to General Elections in India, a report in The Times of India suggests. As per the report, the next edition of the league will kick off on March 29. BCCI, though, might be forced to shift out the tournament fully or partially if General Elections takes place in the months from March to May.
General Elections in India plus the schedule of World CUP 2019 might see an early start to the twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As per a report in the Times of India, the next edition of IPL might start on March 29, which is a week ahead of the scheduled start of IPL. Usually, IPL starts in the first week of April. The decision to prepone IPL is due to two reasons, first General Elections in Idia and second ICC World Cup 2019.
Starting from elections, if they are held next year from a period of March to May, then automatically the tournament might be shifted outside India fully or partially. In 2009, full IPL was shifted to South Africa while in 2014, the first 19 days of the tournament were held in UAE.
As per reports, the present Government is mulling to conduct General Elections at the end of the present year, which will be a good news for BCCI as it will not have care about the security in that case. The forces will be available and hence, the board will not be forced to shift the tournament out. The opposite will be the case if elections are held next year.
The other reason behind the early start of IPL is the World Cup. Since the 10-team tournament starts on May 30, BCCI will have to ensure that the tournament ends 15 days prior to the start of it, owing to Lodha recommendations.
As per the rule, there should be a gap of 15 days between IPL and next international series. Though, the same rule was not followed last year when Indian players flew to England to play ICC Champions Trophy just after the conclusion of IPL. Players of other countries also rushed to England to prepare for the 'Mini World Cup'.
A final decision over the kick-off date of IPL will only come out from the board once the Government of India gives its stand on the dates of General Elections as it will have a major say on the fixtures of IPL.