IPL 2020 Has To Be Shortened If It Happens, Says Sourav Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be curtailed. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BCCI, on Friday, suspended the IPL till April 15 as a precautionary measure. IPL 2020 was scheduled 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.

But Sourav Ganguly has confirmed one thing that if the IPL gets underway this year, it will be a truncated one. His comments come after the meeting between BCCI officials including Sourav Ganguly and the owners of all eight franchises in Mumbai on Saturday where the future of the IPL 2020 was discussed.

“It will happen, because if it is April 15, then, in any case, 15 days are gone, it has to be truncated. How truncated, how many games, I can’t say at the moment,” Sourav Ganguly told reporters.

The former India skipper further assured that the BCCI will prioritise the health and safety of players, fans and others over conducting the IPL. The board will be reassessing the situation every week till April 15th before taking a call on the start of the tournament. Several state governments including Delhi and Karnataka have already announced that they will not be hosting IPL matches until the situation is in control.

“We are monitoring the situation and it will be reassessed every week. As much as we want to host IPL, we are also concerned about the safety of the people,” said Sourav Ganguly.

On Friday, the BCCI had called off the ODI series between India and South Africa too. The last two games of the series was set to be played behind closed doors before the BCCI decided to call it off altogether.

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