IPL
MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma with the IPL trophy (Credits: Twitter)

Former India cricketer and present member of Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council (GC) Surinder Khanna has said hosting IPL 2020 in India will be the first priority. With the ICC postponing the T20 World Cup earlier this week, the path is clear for the BCCI to conduct the tournament.

Recently, Brijesh Patel, chairman of IPL GC, stated that UAE is likely to host this year’s IPL although there is no official statement on the same. An official word will come out only after the IPL governing council’s meeting. Amidst all these, Surinder Khanna has said that the venue for the IPL is not finalised yet.

IPL, IPL 2020, Closed Doors, Government
IPL Trophy. Photo by: Deepak Malik /SPORTZPICS for BCCI

In an exclusive interview with CricketAddictor, the former India international confirmed that IPL will take place this year between September and November. He, however, made it clear that the venue is not finalised yet.

“That’s a very positive sign,” he said on ICC’s decision to postpone the T20 World Cup

“I am sure the dates will be scheduled between September and November. It will be decided in the meeting. The tournament will take place. All the players also want to play. The way England have hosted West Indies, they have motivated the cricketing world,” added Surinder Khanna.

The 64-year old, who represented India in 10 ODIs, further said that hosting the tournament in India is still the first priority.

Read More  KKR Playing 11 vs RCB- IPL 2024, Match 10

“IPL is a very popular tournament, one of the best in the world. We will see if we can conduct the tournament in the country. I have always believed that we have lot of potential and when Hindustanis intend to do something, they always do that. So, our first priority will be to host the tournament in India,” concluded Surinder Khanna.

Meanwhile, recent reports are suggesting that the tentative window for IPL 2020 is between September 26 and November 8. The BCCI wants to complete the league as early as possible in November in order to make sure Team India has ample time to prepare for the challenging Test series in Australia towards the end of the year.

Also Read: Pakistan Will Not Run After India To Play Bilateral Series: PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani

Also Read: Kumar Sangakkara Breaks His Silence On 2011 World Cup Final Fixing Allegations