After rain plays spoilsport to MPL final, MCA president hopes BCCI relaxes norms for state leagues

The final of the MPL had to be abandoned, with the weather affecting the business end of the tournament.

File image of the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. | Photo Credit: VIVEK BENDRE

Considering the onset of monsoon has affected the intra-state T20 leagues in the west zone, Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president Rohit Pawar has stated it will appeal to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to relax the window norms for state leagues.

According to the BCCI directive, a state league can begin only 15 days after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and cannot be held after September 15 till the end of the domestic season.

With the monsoon arriving in western and central India around June 15, it has put the state leagues in jeopardy. The Mumbai T20 League was last staged in 2018. The Saurashtra Premier League - scheduled to begin on June 15 - had to be postponed due to a cyclone.

The Maharashtra Premier League (MPL), revived this year after well over a decade, was fortunate to see the league stage being unaffected with the monsoon being delayed. But the final of the MPL had to be abandoned, with the weather affecting the business end of the tournament.

Pawar stated that all the associations, especially those in the west zone, will make a joint appeal to the BCCI. “All of us will get together and try and discuss with the BCCI, whether the rule can be relaxed a bit. Even if the window can be advanced by 10 days - ideally at the end of May - it can help all of us.,” Pawar told Sportstar on the sidelines of the MPL final.

“Despite so many issues to deal with, including the World Cup preparation, the BCCI gave us the go-ahead for this season. It shows it is positive and I sincerely believe that it will be supportive of this request as well in future.”

Interestingly, the BCCI directive - accessed by Sportstar - was communicated to the state associations during the stint of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators. The elected BCCI office-bearers have refrained from relaxing the rule so far.

Besides the five associations in the west zone - Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Baroda - the rule also puts plans of state leagues for BCCI members in central zone, including Vidarbha, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

With the monsoon rain present in these regions between mid-June and early October, it becomes a huge risk for an association to organise a commercially viable state T20 league.