Former Indian Captain and BCCI Prez Sourav Ganguly has made it absolutely clear that IPL 2020 shall be a truncated tournament if the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic doesn’t fade away quickly. This year’s edition of IPL was about to start from March 29 with a match between heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. But the present situation demanded a rescheduling and BCCI promptly suspended IPL 2020 from March 29 to April 15.
The suspension happened partly owing the safety of fans and players, but bigger events that led to this decision was the Indian Government’s decision of banning travel from outside the country, which will hinder foreign cricketers from arriving to play. Another complication arrived when three Indian states refused to host IPL matches owing to safety and security of masses.
When asked if IPL 2020 will be a shortened event, BCCI Prez Ganguly agreed: “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.”
“We met with the owners, to tell them how it can happen and where do we stand at the moment. At the moment, it is just postponed. We will assess the situation,” he said. It will be reassessed every week. I can’t say at the moment (about a deadline). I has to be worked around. As much as we want to host the IPL, we also need to be careful about the security,” Ganguly added.
Ganguly declared safety of players and audience to be the main priority of BCCI. “We will monitor further. Safety is most important and with the current situation with what is going around the world and in India, with government directives, we have even postponed the remaining domestic matches.”
According to sources, six to seven options were discussed during the meeting. KXIP’s owner Ness Wadia, who was a part of the meeting, said: “We cannot and no one, you know, is in a position today to say when it’s going to start. We will review the situation after two to three weeks. And hopefully by then the cases will reduce.”
Current backup options include dividing the team in groups of 4, playing in closed stadium or hosting the tournament at a few restricted places.
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