MCA: Difficult to conduct T20 Mumbai tournament in June

MCA secretary Sanjay Naik. Pic/Subodh Mayure

Although the BCCI has granted permission to four state associations - Mumbai, Saurashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - to conduct their franchise-based T20 leagues at the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) secretary Sanjay Naik expressed doubts over holding the T20 Mumbai from June 1, due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

BCCI's interim CEO Hemang Amin's email to the state associations accessed by mid-day, said: "The staging Association is not allowed to conduct the tournament during the IPL and/or 15 days before or after the IPL and/or during September 15 to end of February every year."

The email stressed that this "one-time permission" is not a "norm".

MCA secretary Naik said an Apex Council meeting will be called in the next couple of weeks to discuss the BCCI's communication. "We have got permission from the BCCI to conduct the tournament. We will discuss as to when to hold the tournament in our next Apex Council meeting. However, we will be able to decide only once the lockdown in Maharashtra ends. It looks difficult to conduct the tournament from the first week of June because of the COVID situation in Mumbai. We will be able to decide only after the Government of Maharashtra gives us the green signal," Naik told mid-day.

If the T20 Mumbai tournament is not held in June, then the last week of September or October provides another window, where the MCA is keen to conduct
the tournament, according to a source.

"It will be very difficult to put everything together in 15 days' time considering the lockdown in Maharashtra could be extended till mid-May," the source said.