Nazma Qureshi Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) chairman Brijesh Patel said on Thursday that the BCCI has focused on the September-October window for the IPL but it depends on the postponement of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.
He also indicated that the IPL can be held abroad as the location in the empty stadium does not matter. Patel told PTI, “We are looking at the September-October window but it depends on the postponement of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.
“We will also have to follow the government guidelines at that time.”
The Asia Cup is to be held in September and the T20 World Cup in October-November. But the fate of both the tournaments has not been decided yet and the ICC will decide on the World Cup to be held in Australia next month.
There is also an option to have the IPL abroad in view of the increasing cases of COVID-19 in India. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sri Lanka have shown interest in hosting the world’s largest T20 league (IPL).
Chairman Brijesh Patel said, “Surely preference will be given to its introduction in India, but a lot will depend on the situation at that time. Sri Lanka has offered to host it and UAE too, we will see where we can play. If you are playing without an audience, then it does not matter where you are playing.”
The 2009 phase of the IPL was held in South Africa due to general elections in the country and because of the same reason, some part of the tournament was held in UAE in 2014.
If the IPL is not possible this year, the BCCI is likely to suffer a loss of Rs 4000 crore. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also said that the board is exploring all options for organizing the IPL. Ganguly has also said that in the latest information to the recognized units of the board, the tournament should be held in the empty stadium.
When asked if there is a plan for the IPL to be shortened, Patel said, “We want to get the tournament done in a normal term but it will again depend on which tournament (Asia Cup or World Cup) will be postponed.”
He further added, “IPL is an important tournament for boards, sponsors, broadcasters and players. Everyone wants it to be organized, the players are desperate to play on the field.”
Patel said that the sooner the ICC decides on the T20 World Cup, the better it will be for the stakeholders. He also said that the IPL can be played without the audience but not the World Cup.
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IPL Match Schedule And Start Date
The BCCI hasn’t been able to confirm the IPL match schedule neither the start date, but the BCCI is working with September and October month as probably the IPL starting date. But as soon as BCCI knows about the World Cup and Asia Cup, we will have a IPL Starting Date.
So it is very much likely that no announcement regarding IPL will be out soon as BCCI waits for a decision on T20 World Cup and Asia Cup.
Recently Australia’s prime minister announced that people now can gather for sporting events in a limited number. Everyone expecting around 10000 people to be allowed to gather in a stadium for the T20 World Cup if it gets the green light.
