India's popular IPL set to roll even as pandemic worsens

(file photo) Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan displays the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket trophy

The Indian Premier League is not only one of the world's most lucrative annual sporting properties but also among the most durable, with not even the lengthening shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic apparently able to stop the Twenty20 juggernaut. Last year's delayed tournament was shifted to the United Arab Emirates but the 14th edition returns to India, where the coronavirus situation has worsened significantly in recent weeks. The surge in new cases could yet scupper plans to host the tournament in bio-secure bubbles at six venues across the country, starting on Friday in Chennai and climaxing at the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad on May 30. The Indian cricket board (BCCI), however, is bullish about the chances of pulling it off.