Sourav Ganguly speaks against playing five Tests: The President of the BCCI has ruled out the possibility of India playing five Tests down under.
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There is no hiding to the fact that the ongoing novel COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by severe financial losses across industries including sports. The last two months have seen some associations announcing pay cuts for their employees to combat the global crisis.
Speaking in an interview with Hindustan Times, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) President Sourav Ganguly has refrained from announcing any pay cut at this point in time.
“If the IPL takes place, we won’t have to go in for pay cuts. We’ll manage things. We will have to examine our financial situation, see how much money we have and take a call. Not hosting the Indian Premier League will cause losses to the tune of Rs. 4,000 crore which is huge,” Ganguly was quoted as saying.
Ganguly on playing without spectators
With IPL 2020 getting suspended until further notice, ICC T20 World Cup 2020 and the tour of Australia remain India’s two biggest fixtures of this year.
Most recently, Cricket Australia had revealed their intentions of hosting India for a Test series behind closed doors at one venue. While there have also been murmurs around IPL 2020 being played without spectators, Ganguly shared his experience of playing in an empty stadium and how entry of restricted fans will also possess challenges.
“Yes, the attraction will be less. I remember playing in such a scenario at the Asian Test Championship [spectators were not allowed in for the final day] game against Pakistan in 1999 and there was a clear lack of excitement.
“If you have matches with restricted amount of crowds, not only would strict social distancing rules apply, the officials would also have to be very careful about how the spectators leave the galleries for home. The policing will have to be very strict. It’s a tough call and the situation we find ourselves in, is grave,” Ganguly said.
Sourav Ganguly speaks against playing five Tests
It is worth mentioning that Cricket Australia were planning a five-Test series against India. In a latest interaction with MidDay, the 47-year old didn’t shy away from speaking against playing five Tests down under.
“I don’t think it will be possible for India to participate in five Tests. There will be limited-overs games and plus we have to consider the 14-day quarantine guidelines. All this will extend the tour,” Ganguly told MidDay.
