Are IPL team owners planning to cancel IPL 2020 in the wake of COVID-19?

Are IPL team owners planning to cancel IPL 2020: Plentiful rumours are doing the rounds regarding the future of IPL 2020.

With the novel COVID-19 continuing the call the shots around the globe, the fate of sporting tournaments such as the Indian Premier League is uncertain right now.

Originally slated to begin on March 29, IPL 2020 was postponed last week with the outbreak of the pandemic making it impossible for the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to commence the tournament on its scheduled date.

Given the unpredictability regarding the tournament, all sort of news reports are doing the rounds including the one which states that team owners are planning to cancel IPL 2020 altogether.

Thoughts with all those around the World right now. Sport will rise again in time but for now it’s about everyone staying safe and finding a way through. Medically and economically we are being challenged more than our generation has ever been before but we will find a way. 🙏🏼

— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) March 18, 2020

Are IPL team owners planning to cancel IPL 2020?

Following the aforementioned reports, a video of renowned journalist Boria Majumdar is surfacing on social media where he reveals his recent conversation with team owners regarding the cancellation of the tournament.

“Having spoken to a number of franchise owners in the last one hour, at least three of them, I can tell you that franchise owners haven’t at all confirmed this to me. They are saying that since the meeting on Saturday, there has been no development that they will take such and all,” Majumdar was quoted as saying in a video posted by FanCode.

Furthermore, he also adds that the franchises are playing the “waiting game” for they have faith in the cricket board and hence, any conclusion regarding the future of the tournament at this point in time will be premature.

“They are waiting and watching just like the BCCI. They have faith in the BCCI led by Sourav Ganguly. The BCCI is likely to take stock at the end of two weeks [towards the end of March]. Once again [maybe] meet the franchise owners and then take a call.

“All of India is waiting and the government is doing everything it can [to bring the situation under control]. I think at this point in time to think anything like that is premature,” Majumdar adds.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Read More