The postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to Covid-19 was a reminder of the game's vulnerability, former Australia skipper Ian Chappell said on Sunday, pointing at the weak underbelly of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chappell said that given the current crisis India was passing through, it wouldn't be surprising if the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in October-November in India, is either moved out of the country or postponed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The suspension of the 2021 IPL tournament because of surging Covid infections and deaths among the public, and a number of participants testing positive, was a reminder of the game's vulnerability," Chappell said in a column on espncricinfo website.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"In the current disastrous climate, the suspension of the IPL could also produce a precedent. It may lead to the World T20 event, programmed for India later in the year, either being postponed or moved," wrote the 77-year-old player who captained Australia between 1971 and 1975.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Citing examples when cricket tours had to be abandoned midway -- or postponed -- the cricket legend recalled that in 1969 "England toured a bitterly divided Pakistan where the series was haunted by protests from the beginning. When a riot brought the third Test in Karachi to a premature halt, the England team flew home immediately".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chappell said that nature too had played spoilsport on a number of occasions, leaving the spectators high and dry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"In 1970-71, the MCG Boxing Day Test between Australia and England was abandoned without a ball being bowled after heavy rain ruined any chance of a competitive match. That led to the first-ever ODI being played in lieu of the Test in an effort to recoup some of the lost revenue," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chappell also mentioned an ugly incident in Headingley in 2006, when Pakistan forfeited the fourth Test to England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Pakistan forfeited the match after refusing to take the field when the team was accused of ball-tampering and penalised five runs. Despite cricket employing more sheriffs than you'd find in the old American Wild West, the Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, could not be coaxed into taking his team back onto the field. After a lengthy delay the match was awarded to England on a forfeit," he wrote.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ipl-postponement-a-reminder-to-crickets-vulnerability-ian-chappell.jpg", "alt_img": "Cricket Image for IPL Postponement A Reminder To Cricket's Vulnerability: Ian Chappell", "alt_title": "Ian Chappell", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "IPL Postponement A Reminder Of Cricket's Vulnerability: Ian Chappell ", "seo_desc": "The postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to Covid-19 was a reminder of the game's vulnerability on Cricketnmore. ", "seo_keywords": "IPL 2021, Ian Chappell", "tag": "", "tagging": "IPL 2021,Ian Chappell,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "ipl-postponement-a-reminder-of-crickets-vulnerability-ian-chappell", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2171", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2021-05-10 07:18:02", "updated": "2021-05-10 07:18:02", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Ian Chappell, IPL 2021, IPL Postponement, IPL, Indian Premier League", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "12", "jio_date": "2021-05-10 07:18:02", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2021-05-10 07:18:02", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/ipl-postponement-a-reminder-of-crickets-vulnerability-ian-chappell-75772" }