BCCI ready to organise closed door games; says fans’ safety main priority

The BCCI official made it clear that gate money wouldn't be the primary focus under current circumstances.

All the sporting activities have come to a grinding halt in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. It has been over two months since any form of international or domestic cricket was last played.

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was initially slated to start on March 29, has been suspended until further notice due to the deadly outbreak.

While the BCCI is looking at a September 25 to November 1 window to stage the cash-rich event, the board is clear that fans’ safety is the main priority under current circumstances.

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Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official echoed with Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju’s words that sporting events should be held behind closed doors. He went on to add that gate money wouldn't be the primary focus at this point in time and revenue generated from broadcasting the games should work fine.

"In these extraordinary times gate money is the least of anyone's concerns. Fan safety obviously takes priority. When cricket happens, the broadcast revenue is the first chunk of revenue necessary for the BCCI and the state associations' subsistence. Same is the case for the IPL.

"Nobody is going to say no to gate revenue, but no one in their right minds is going to give gate money preference over fan safety. Those who have organised matches understand this basic tenet. Moreover, the Sports Minister has given a statement and he represents the government with regard to the sporting ecosystem in the country and one must take note of the same and understand the gravity of the situation," the official said.

The honourable Sports Minister, on his part, has made it clear that while sporting events will resume slowly as athletes have already been given the permission to start individual training, a call on the IPL would be taken by the government with an eye on the Coronavirus epidemic.

"In India, the government has to take a call and it will take a call depending on the situation. We cannot put health at risk just because we want to have a sporting event. Our focus is fighting COVID-19 and at the same time we will have to work a mechanism to get back to normalcy. It is difficult to confirm dates but I am sure we will have some kind of sporting events this year," he told India Today.

"We have been advising that health and safety are top priorities and besides that we have to keep in mind guidelines issued by the home ministry and the guidelines issued by the local authorities. We have been planning to resume the events but before that we need to resume the practice and training. We cannot resume tournaments immediately."

(With IANS inputs)