The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council chairman, Arun Dhumal, on Tuesday stated that all stakeholders are currently reviewing the LPG shortage situation in India, and a decision will be taken once more developments come to light. It is worth noting that recently, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued a statement confirming that LPG supply to essential non-domestic sectors will be prioritised due to fuel supply constraints arising from the ongoing West Asia conflict.
With the war between the USA, Israel, and Iran showing no signs of ending anytime soon, the supply of petroleum and LPG products has taken a severe hit. Hotel owner associations in both Bengaluru and Chennai have already stated that they have LPG supply only for a day or two.
The schedule for the 19th edition of the IPL is yet to be announced. The delay is due to the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to announce the schedule in two halves, with the calendar for the first two days of the tournament due by March 12.
However, the LPG shortage has added another dynamic, and it needs to be seen whether the schedule announcement is pushed back further.
“We are reviewing the development. Since this is an evolving situation, nothing can be said as of now. But given the requirement of the situation, we will take a call accordingly,” Dhumal told The New Indian Express.
‘Diktat for oil refineries’
On Monday, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued an order to oil refineries to increase LPG production and use the extra output for domestic LPG.
The ongoing West Asia conflict also disrupted travel plans for several teams that were in India for the recently concluded T20 World Cup. The travel restrictions in the Middle East forced the West Indies and South Africa to be stuck in India despite crashing out of the competition.
Both teams are slated to leave India on Tuesday, March 10. England lost the semi-final on March 5 against India and were able to head back home only two days later, on March 7, which led several players to accuse the ICC of preferring England over West Indies and South Africa in terms of who gets to head back home first.
Coming back to the IPL, the schedule might not have been announced yet, but several franchises have already begun holding training camps.
