By Akeem Greene
With India’s tour to the Caribbean set to clash with the current window for the seventh edition of the Hero Caribbean League (CPL), the organisers of the League have yet to decide on the possible new dates, according to Head of Public Relations, Peter Miller.
A release in January stated that CPL and Cricket West Indies (CWI) agreed the 2019 window will be between August 21 and September 27 and the opening round of matches will take place in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana before returning to these two countries for the playoffs and final once again.
It is understood the Indians were initially set to come in July, just after the World Cup in England from May 30 to July 14.
In February, CWI President Dave Cameron was quoted in a CMC article that the dates will clash and the Indians have asked for the tour to start in August on the basis that the team cannot undertake another tour until 15 days has elapsed. India are favourites to be in World Cup final on July 14.
According to a report in a Trinidad news outlet on Tuesday (March 19), CPL has moved the dates to accommodate the tour.
The article stated: “There will be no clash between the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Indian tour of the Caribbean, as owners of the CPL have decided to change the dates of the tournament…After negotiations between Cricket West Indies (CWI) and CPL, the CPL owners decided that they would move their dates and now the CPL will be played from September 4 to October 12.”
Contacted by News Room Sport Miller said: “The India tour dates haven’t been confirmed yet. There is a potential that we move our dates if there was a clash with the India series, but this hasn’t been confirmed.”
The Trinidad news outlet further stated, “The Indians will be coming to the Caribbean at the end of July and will play two Test matches, three ODIs, and three T20s. The Test matches are likely to be played in Trinidad and Jamaica, while Guyana will get the ODIs and the T20 matches will be played in Fort Lauderdale as was done during the last Indian tour of the Caribbean.”
In January, CWI Director Anand Sanasie confirmed to News Room Sport that Guyana will likely host two ODIs.
Additionally, Miller was further questioned on whether a possible change in dates would impact the tournament negatively given the norm of playing during the August window.
“As to whether this would adversely affect the tournament, if it does happen that is for others to judge. What I would say is it is key for us to have the best possible players available to make the tournament as strong as possible so we can continue to grow the tournament as a spectacle year-on-year as we have done since the start.”
