Curtailed IPL, Teams Divided Into Groups Among Nearly Half Dozen Option Discussed In IPL Meeting

In the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, the BCCI and the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises reportedly discussed the option of a curtailed tournament. The BCCI, on Friday, suspended the IPL till April 15 as a precautionary measure. The thirteenth edition of the league was set to start on March 29 in Mumbai.

BCCI’s decision came after the government imposed travel restrictions and as many as three states refused to host any IPL games. As of now there is absolutely no clarity over when will the league start. Things could become worse if the pandemic situation does not improve in the coming days. Several media reports are also suggesting that the league could be off altogether this year if it does not start by April 20.

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After the meeting in Mumbai, a BCCI source spilled the beans on the options that were discussed at the meeting. He stated that the board and the franchise discussed nearly half a dozen options to host the IPL this year.

“There were six to seven options discussed during the meeting between team owners and BCCI including a curtailed IPL,” the source told PTI.

“The second option right now is that teams could be divided into two groups of four and then top four go into the play-offs. The third option is the increase of doubleheaders (played on weekdays),” the source added.

The fourth option is holding all matches in just a couple of centres with restricted movements of players, support staff and TV crew. Another option is to play behind closed doors and has all the 60 games in a shorter time frame which will ensure that the stakeholders do not lose out truckloads of money.

He also confirmed that the option of shifting the tournament to another country was not discussed. Meanwhile, the BCCI also called off the ODI series between India and South Africa. The series will now take place on a later date this year.

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