Speculation About IPL 2020 Future Premature: BCCI Treasurer

With the coronavirus pandemic showing absolutely no signs of stopping, the fate of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to unclear. The thirteenth edition of the league was scheduled to start on March 29. But few days before the scheduled start of IPL 2020, the BCCI suspended the league at least till April 15.

At that time, the board had stated that the next decision on the league will depend on the situation in the country. But unfortunately, the situation has only deteriorated since then. As of now, there are more than 10,000 active cases while over 300 people have already lost their lives.

The government is reportedly set to extend the lockdown and in such a scenario, the start of IPL looks highly unlikely. Several reports have suggested that the BCCI could hold the IPL towards the end of the year. However, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has said the BCCI is currently not in a position to take a call on the future of IPL.

He also said that it would be “too premature” to comment on whether the tournament can be slotted in place of the ICC World T20 in October-November. Several reports suggest that the BCCI might hold the IPL in the slot assigned for the T20 World Cup.

“Right now, the picture is very hazy. We don’t even know when the lockdown will end and if we don’t know, how can we even have a meaningful discussion. Once we get a clarity from the government, we can then sit and take fresh stock of the situation. Any speculation about it’s future will be premature,” Arun Dhumal told PTI during an exclusive interaction.

“Everyone wants IPL to happen but let’s have some clarity first,” he added.

He also provided some practical insight into rescheduling of IPL as speculations are rife about the October-November window.

“Tell me one thing. Firstly, if Australia is under lockdown for six months, how can we conclude that they will allow their players to travel from next month right away? What if the travel restrictions for its citizens are still in place. How will they come to India then? And don’t forget that other boards also need to agree,” Dhumal said.

“Secondly, even if the lockdown ends in India, what if some of the major cities still have those COVID ‘hotspots’? Can we risk the lives of our sportspersons? Thirdly, the players are likely to go without training for months.

“Even if we are in a position to conduct a tournament, for international players, we need to give them a bare minimum time to do full-fledged training before we can start a tournament. All these factors can only be clear when we are in a position to discuss,” he added.

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