Aussies left idle as IPL suspended 'indefinitely'

The 17 Australians holding lucrative Indian Premier League contracts will be made to wait further for the chance to cash in at the global T20 bonanza after the BCCI suspended the season indefinitely due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The competition, originally scheduled to start on March 29, had initially been pushed back to April 15. After the Indian government extended the country's lockdown until at least May 3, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the eight franchises that the tournament has been deferred indefinitely.

It exacerbates a scheduling squeeze that looms once health concerns ease enough for top-flight cricket to resume.

An IPL franchise official told AFP the IPL organisers were looking to "find a window in the later end of the year to do it".

The men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in October and November in Australia, and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chair Ehsan Mani has warned any disruption to that tournament would have serious financial implications for many of the competing cricketing nations.

A possible September window for the IPL – should cricket be able to return by then – would cause conflict with the Asia Cup T20 tournament and numerous planned bilateral T20 internationals ahead of the World Cup.

The ICC's Future Tours Programme indicates the West Indies and India are due to tour to play three-game T20 series against Australia ahead of the World Cup.

Australia and Bangladesh have already mutually agreed to postpone their two-Test series in June, while no decision has been made yet on Australia's white-ball tour of England in July or a mooted home ODI series against Zimbabwe in August.

Pat Cummins headlined the list of Australians sold at auction for this year's IPL, setting a new record as the most expensive non-Indian player at $A3.16 million, with Steve Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell all on deals topping A$2m.

A number of Australian off-field positions are also impacted: Ricky Ponting is head coach of the Delhi Daredevils, while current men's team assistant coach Andrew McDonald has the reins for the Rajasthan Royals. Former Test batsman Simon Katich is set to be a first-year head coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore, assisted by Tasmanian Tigers chief Adam Griffith.

Cummins has suggested the T20 World Cup should take precedence over the IPL whenever cricket resumes, while others have indicated a willingness to play behind closed doors, while a truncated tournament has been among the many options canvassed.

Cricketer-turned-commentator VVS Laxman said the IPL should kick off the cricket calendar once the sport resumes.

"I think some of the cricket boards will be encouraging the fact that IPL is a big tournament, and everyone acknowledges that," Laxman, who is a mentor for IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad, told Indian broadcaster Star Sports.

"And just before the World Cup it will set the tone for a hectic cricket season. But I just hope that everything is normal, and no one is in danger. And once that happens, I am sure the IPL should kick off the cricket calendar."

There was no announcement on the IPL's future from the Indian board. At the weekend, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had shied away from giving a prediction.

"Practically speaking, when life has come to a standstill everywhere in the world, where does sport have a future in this?" he said.

The league is a huge revenue-earner for the BCCI, which signed a five-year IPL broadcast deal worth a staggering $3.2 billion in 2017, and is estimated to generate more than $11 billion a year for the Indian economy.

The participation of the world's top cricketers has attracted big money, such as Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo putting up $330 million to be the league's top sponsor for 2018-2022.

IPL franchises normally make their payments in two instalments – the first a week before the tournament stars and the balance after the season, according to ESPN.