IPL 13 Set To Be Cancelled If It Misses April 20 Deadline: BCCI official hints at the showpiece league being called off this season
Advertisement
Friday saw the Indian Premier League become the latest sporting event to face the brunt of the Coronavirus. The pandemic saw the marquee T20 league be suspended till April 15 as a precautionary measure by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in a bid to ensure that the rampant spread of the disease didn’t have an adverse impact on the league.
The latest development came in the wake of the Indian Government ascertaining that all sporting events in the country would only take place without the presence of spectators in stadiums. The slew of measures announced by the government also saw India impose a blanket ban on visas for people travelling to India as the country looked to isolate itself from the world to curb the rapid transition of the illness.
BCCI Postpones IPL From Initial March 29 Start
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) situation. The BCCI is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience. The BCCI will work closely with the Government of India along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and all other relevant Central and State Government departments in this regard,” the BCCI said in a statement yesterday.
Threat Of IPL 13 Being Curtailed If April 20 Deadline Is Missed Out On
Despite the BCCI’s statement of the IPL set to go ahead from April 15 though, fears of the frontier league being completely called off for this season have only arisen. As per a BCCI official, the league would only be able to take place if it is able to be conducted in the six week window from April 21-May 31, a period sufficient to conduct 60 matches with multiple doubleheaders during the duration.
“If at all the IPL starts, it would be around April 20 but the decision will be made around April 10. If the tournament doesn’t start by April 20, it will have to be deferred till the next year,” an IPL official said when speaking about the latest developments.
“Besides players, most teams have foreigners in its coaching staff. Since the visa issue is unresolved, they were not so keen on starting the tournament without coaches, not just the players,” the official added.
Clarity Expected Within The Next Week
Whilst news is coming in from all quarters regarding the fortunes of Indian Premier League 2020, clarity is expected come the ensuing week when the IPL core committee will sit down with the BCCI, Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to discuss different factors engulfing the league.
According to reports, the BCCI and IPL is set to take a massive hit in case the IPL gets called off this season with the figure envisaged to hit the roof of Rs.10, 000 crore with over 200 brands brought on board for IPL 2. Rs. 400 crore are toured to be lost on ticket sales solely while a further Rs.300 were shelved out by Star Sports to win the telecast rights for the ongoing edition of the league.
