Simon Katich, the newly-appointed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach, is in "no doubt" that the IPL 2020 will be played in some form at a later date in the calendar. Katich is also open to the idea of the league's 13th edition possibly being held outside India, like previously in South Africa and UAE.
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"Whether it would be in Australia (or elsewhere), that's an interesting topic of conversation. There would be a few teams - us in particular at RCB, we'd be very happy for it to be played abroad, because a number of our overseas players are Australian and South African, who really would enjoy these conditions in Australia," Katich told SEN Radio, as BCCI on Thursday (April 16) postpone the league "till further notice" because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It would be interesting to see if that would eventuate but obviously it's one of many scenarios that's being discussed."
Given the league's impact on world cricket economy, the existing FTP is likely to be rejigged in order to fit it in. "It's obviously the biggest T20 tournament in the world and the people there love their cricket," said Katich. "But I think they're also realistic to know that they have to sit tight and wait like everyone else in the world and ride this out however long that takes."
"There is a huge economic side to this in terms of what the IPL generates, not only for the Indian economy but also for the franchises as well, and for the BCCI. I guess the thing that has to be weighed up is there's probably a little bit of a difference in terms of the IPL."
"Because of the number of eyeballs that are on the IPL in India when it's on in April and May, it is a scenario where it is potentially still very commercially viable being played with empty stadiums, so that's something no doubt they'll be weighing up," added the former Australia opener, who replaced Gary Kirsten at his job.
"In the past, there's been talk of rating figures of 80 million people watching games. At the same time, there's obviously a lot of health regulations that need to be followed to make sure that no-one's endangered, whether that's the public or the players and support staff."
There have been reports that the BCCI regime is looking at developments at the ICC with keen interest, hoping that the governing body will suspend the T20 World Cup scheduled for October-November in Australia, where there is likely to be a six-month lockdown in place, so that the IPL can be played in that window.
"Potentially there's a chance to host (T20 World Cup) it later in the summer, like the (recent) Women's T20 World Cup (which was held in February), and whether that's an opportunity to re-jig things."
"It'll be interesting to hear those discussions [which are] probably taking place at the moment and whether that's logistically possible with the FTP the way it is," said Katich.
"But I'm sure that a T20 World Cup is a priority for all the organisers at the moment, to try and make sure that goes ahead at some point in the Australian summer given that we're hosting it."
(Inputs from PTI)
