Last week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rescheduled the start of IPL 2020 from March 29 to April 15 in wake of the novel Coronavirus outbreak, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Saturday (March 14) said that the 13th edition of Indian Premier League can only be a truncated one provided the situation improves.
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However, as per the latest report in TOI, the Indian board is planning to host the entire tournament consisting of 60 matches, if not now then later, if not in India then overseas, if not with all the available players then some.
The Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the year 2020 has little of significance between the months of July and September except for the Asia Cup T20 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), slated to be held in September and England hosting Pakistan at home before playing Ireland in limited-overs cricket.
Moreover, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is planning to organise The Hundred from this summer (between June & July). Barring England and Pakistan, however, most other cricketing nations do not have a packed window.
Apart from the Asia Cup, the only series India are scheduled to play before the T20 World Cup in Australia are three ODIs and as many T20Is in Sri Lanka (June-July).
"The 2009 IPL - in South Africa - was played inside 37 days. That's five weeks and two days. If that kind of a window is made available, the IPL can be held partly in India and partly overseas, or the entire tournament can be shifted, depending on how the Covid-19 situation is globally," those in the know of developments told TOI.
There are certain procedures based on which the itinerary of a tournament functions.
In the case of IPL, "with every week lost from a minimum of 37 days, nine to 11 matches have to be shaved off," say industry executives.
(With TOI inputs)
