No Play, No Pay: ICA Chief Reveals How Players Will Suffer If IPL Gets Cancelled

It seems not just the fans, but players as well will suffer, if the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season gets cancelled. Such has been the impact of the deadly Coronavirus, that the cash-rich league which was due to begin from March 29, has been postponed until April 15, but it seems highly unlikely to kick off-on as per schedule.

India is currently under a 21-day lockdown, and so the BCCI will have to either play the league behind closed doors, or they will have to compromise some of the bilateral commitments to find a window for hosting the IPL.

The problem with Coronavirus is that it shows no signs of slowing down, and continues to spread at an alarming rate. If these trends continue, then the organisers may have to forget hosting the IPL at least until the situation improves.

This, in turn, could have further implications on finances of not just the BCCI, but the players will also have to bear the losses. How you may ask?

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IPL and the financial side of things

Ashok Malhotra, president of the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA) revealed that all players stand to lose their salaries if the IPL does now get underway, and while MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli will feel the pinch, the domestic players will suffer the most.

“The system of IPL payments is that 15 per cent is paid a week before the tournament starts. 65 per cent more is paid during the tournament. The remaining 20 percent is paid within a stipulated time after the tournament ends,” a senior official of an IPL franchise told PTI.

“The BCCI has specific guidelines. Obviously, no player will be paid as of now,” he added. 

Players will suffer if IPL gets cancelled: ICA chief

Shedding light on how such a scenario would impact the players, Malhotra raised a logical point that if there won’t be an IPL, then BCCI will face losses up to staggering INR 3000 crores as per early estimates.

“The BCCI earns its money from cricket. If cricket is not happening, where will the money come from? We have to be sensible here. So, it’s not just international cricketers but domestic players will also be affected. It’s not the board’s fault. This is an unavoidable situation,” Malhotra said. 

In the current scheme of things, the parent body is looking to move the IPL later in the year, but there’s no concrete information about that too.

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