The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held a lengthy meeting with the officials and owners of the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises given the threat of coronavirus looms on the upcoming 13th season of the cash-rich T20 league.
The COVID-19 virus has gripped the whole globe with over 157,000 cases reported and over 5,800 deaths happening so far as per metrics of worldometers.info. Sporting events everywhere have been stalled or being played in empty stadiums.
The IPL 2020 was supposed to begin on March 29 but has been postponed to April 15 due to the threat of this virus, while BCCI suspended all domestic competitions until things got better.
IPL 2020: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly says IPL 13 will be a curtailed one
The meeting between BCCI and IPL owners saw Sourav Ganguly, Jay Shah, and IPL chief Brijesh Patel speaking about options with KKR’s Shah Rukh Khan, MI’s Akash Ambani, DC’s Parth Jindal, KXIP’s Ness Wadia amongst others.
After the meeting, there were six possibilities left with them to ensure IPL 2020 happened. And we shared all the six options that BCCI now has.
1. Curtailed IPL
Eight teams playing each other just once instead of home and away in the league (32 games, including 4 playoffs) or being divided into two groups of four teams each and playing home and away (28 games including playoffs).
2. Extending the Window
The original schedule of the IPL has the tournament starting on March 24 and the final being played on May 29. With two weeks gone, the Board plans to extend the window till May 31.
The BCCI is also exploring the options of talking to overseas boards so that some of the players could be available at least until June 7.
3. Double Headers
The franchises were told that the number of doubleheaders could be increased. They were also informed about how they can play 60 matches despite the loss of days initially.
4. Three games in a day
In case the matches start only after April 20, BCCI is looking at the possibility of increasing the number of matches per day across venues. Even on weekends, there could be up to three matches across venues. However, that requires further deliberation between broadcaster and franchises.
5. Limited Venues
The BCCI also has the option of hosting the matches in limited venues. This will not only reduce logistical difficulties but will also cut the staging costs. As of now, the plan is to reduce the venues to just four or five.
6. Play in an empty stadium
In case the situation doesn’t change by April 15 and the foreign players are not issued the visa, the Board will consider hosting the games behind closed doors. However, that depends on how things stand then.
The franchises and the Indian board came to the conclusion that whatever option is chosen, there would be no comprising in the security of players and everyone else involved. The security of players, support staff, groundsmen have to be of prime importance. There were discussions on how to improve the facilities during the games.
The last and the least viable option is that of postponing the IPL altogether. The franchises have been told that the Board will assess the situation till the first week of April and then decide on the postponement.
With the international calendar starting from June, it would be tough otherwise to continue with the league.
(sportstar.thehindu.com)
