IPL 2020 was supposed to begin on March 29.
With the Coronavirus outbreak suspending all the cricketing activities across the globe until further notice. Since India, a 21-day lockdown, the 13th edition of IPL was suspended from 29 March to 15 April, but as the situation is still not getting better, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal said that it is too early to comment on having IPL in October-November slot.
“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 clarity from the government, we can then sit and take fresh stock of the situation. Any speculation about its future will be premature,” Dhumal told PTI.
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As the conditions are still not ideal for having a tournament now even though everyone wants IPL to happen.
“Everyone wants IPL to happen but let’s have some clarity first. Our office-bearers are in constant touch. It’s not just IPL but there is a huge amount of pending administrative work, legal issues that need to be studied. But there was no conference call scheduled today as there is nothing to discuss till the current situation persists,” he added.
When asked if IPL can be held in the place of the ICC T20 World Cup if Australia, the hosts for the World Cup continue to be in lockdown, Dhumal said, “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?”
“How will they come to India then? 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,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)