Yearender 2020: IPL 2020, bright beacon in a grim year, now eyes set on IPL 2021 in Indian shores

Mumbai Indians won their fifth IPL title in the UAE

Bengaluru, December 14: Few tournaments faced the challenges Indian Premier League had to go through since its inception in 2008. The IPL 2020 too was no exception.

The future of IPL 2020 slid to the danger zone once India went under lockdown following the Covid 19 pandemic. Several options mulled, including abandonment, before the tournament was shifted to UAE, the second time the tournament had to leave the Indian shores.

But hurdles remained as Covid 19 positive cases reported in Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals camps, while players like Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh withdrew from the tournament itself. However, the BCCI has reached a point of no-return by then and they had to go through the IPL 2020 under strict bio-secure bubble atmosphere.

Once the tournament proper started, the worries were left behind and we witnessed one of the most intense IPL editions ever. Once again Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings dominated the headlines, albeit for altogether different reasons.

Mumbai Indians, though missed the services of veteran pacer Lasith Malinga for the entire tournament and skipper Rohit Sharma for a short duration, were quite the unstoppable force as they found multiple heroes for every situation. Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Quinton de Kock etc found their mojo when the call came.

It came as little surprise when they lifted their fifth IPL title since the 2013 edition. On the other hand, three-time champions Chennai Super Kings had little to rejoice as they were knocked out of the IPL league stage, a first in their glorious history. The team under MS Dhoni looked its age finally after the highs of 2018 and 2019, and never really challenged any team in good measure.

That they managed to hand over the wooden spoon to Rajasthan Royals, once the frontrunner in the IPL 2020, by better net run rate itself tells a horrid story. Perhaps, we will see a whole new CSK in IPL 2021.

Delhi Capitals continued their resurgence under skipper Shreyas Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting. In 2019, they had reached the knockout stage and a year later the Capitals bettered that run and entered the final.

Then we have the usual stories offered by Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore. They prospered in the initial stages and looked serious contenders for the title but the Punjab side, under KL Rahul, did not even reach the knockouts and RCB fizzled out in the Eliminator.

Kolkata Knight Riders went through a rough sea throughout the IPL 2020. They effected a mid-season captain change as Eoin Morgan took over from Dinesh Karthik, who suffered a batting meltdown. Sunrisers Hyderabad too were patchy under David Warner but managed to enter the knockout stage.

They beat RCB in the Eliminator but fumbled against Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 but their progress to that stage itself was brave considering they lost several key stars to injuries - Mitchell Marsh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha etc all had to limp out.

But it remains a fact that IPL 2020 was a grand spectacle, defying the circumstances and the uncertainty shrouded it. A section might say avarice guided the BCCI, and they took a massive risk in conducting a multi-team tournament in pandemic times.

It is a bit harsh view as the reality is far from that. It was more of a calculated risk taken by the BCCI setting up a watertight bio-secure bubble atmosphere, matches were held behind closed doors and the players too complied to the security norms and health protocols. If anything went wrong, the whole establishment would have been come under fire.

The successful conduct of the IPL 2020 has given the governing body a boost, and they are mulling to add two more teams from the IPL 2021 edition. With the BCCI already announcing a full-fledged home series against England in the February-March window, it could be safely assumed that the IPL 14 will be staged in India.

The root reason for that confidence is a top-class IPL 2020, a bright beacon in an otherwise dark and grim year.