BCCI, the apex body for Cricket in the country has officially postponed the IPL 2020 for an indefinite period of time to combat the deadly Corona Virus. Just two days after the announcement of Lock down 2.0, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cleared its stand.
Prime Minister Modi on 14th of this month had addressed the nation and announced an extension of the lock down period till May 3 to battle this war like situation. Mr. Modi, in his speech, urged people to stay home to stop the dangerous chain of COVID-19.
Health And Safety Top Priority
The gala event of the cricket was supposed to start on March 29, which was pushed back to April 15 due to rise in COVID-19 cases in India. But, with the exponential increase in number of cases rather than decrease, 13th edition of IPL tasted a second time postponement, this time without any specific date.
“The health and safety of the nation and everyone involved in our great sport remains our top priority and as such, the BCCI along with the Franchise Owners, Broadcaster, Sponsors and all the Stakeholders acknowledge that the IPL 2020 season will only commence when it is safe and appropriate to do so,”
the official website quoted Jay shah.
Will it be delayed by a year?
Just after the official statement came, cricket pundits have started to speculate the possibilities. Many think that it would be delayed by at least for a year as it happened with the Tokyo Olympic. While some of the experts still believe that there is still a lot of possibility to organize the IPL this year itself.
However, the BCCI stated in their official release that they will continue to monitor and review the situation regarding a potential date to organize the 13th edition of the tournament. The cricket carnival will be organised only as and when situation will allow to do so.
September Window Unlikely
With the T20 World Cup already scheduled this year, the possibility that BCCI might consider September-October window to organise the IPL is very dim. The T20 Word Cup is going to begin on 18th October with the Sri Lanka facing off Ireland in the opening match of the tournament.
At a time, when every other sports calendar has got affected due to the pandemic even World cup has some clouds of apprehension over it. But, if the situation improves, the T20 World Cup will be held as scheduled, it will not make any way for the IPL.
The September window may affect the preparation of players and teams going for the T20 World Cup and hence, the chances are very low to consider it as alternate Window for the cricket carnival.
Sri Lanka Offers A Helping Hand
With everything looking gloomy and uncertain, Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) Board has offered to host IPL. The Cricket board of the neighboring country has showed its interest to host the cricket festival. The SLC President Shammi Silva believes that Sri Lanka will be clear of the ongoing situation before India.
“We will be writing to the Indian cricket soon to host the tournament” the SLC chief told Reuters in Colmbo.
Cricket enthusiasts, specially IPL fans are now waiting for the BCCI to react upon the statement as they see this offer as ‘silver lining between clouds’
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