As the BCCI further postponed the IPL 2020 on Thursday (April 15) in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an influential voice within its Sri Lankan counterpart, SLC, expressed keenness to host the league's 13th edition in the Island nation whenever safe to do so.
SLC president Shammi Silva said his country will be ready to play host if the BCCI decides to, as he expects the nation to overcome the deadly outbreak sooner than India, with its significantly lesser population.
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A top BCCI official, however, said that the board has neither received any official proposal nor any discussions are possible on the matter at this stage.
"The BCCI will not be in a position to say anything when the world is closed,” a board official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"There is no proposal from SLC yet and obviously no discussion," stressed the official on being asked what the board's stance will be when the proposal is officially on the table.
An IPL in Sri Lanka, given the close proximity of the country's marquee grounds and no inland flights, all stakeholders can expect it to be more of a cost-efficient affair in terms of logistics, especially as they are fearing for heavy losses at the moment.
That will also significantly boost SLC's financial coffers as host nation, multiple times more than India's scheduled bilateral series to the country in July would.
One veteran BCCI administrator, who was involved in shifting the IPL to South Africa in 2009 and partially to UAE in 2014, however, reckons SLC might not be the only board which proposes to host IPL when ICC chairman Shashank Manohar demits office at the end of May.
"Sri Lanka has been BCCI’s ally at the ICC and their proposal is understandable. But what about once he (Manohar) steps down next month," the board veteran said.
"You could see new equations forming and there could be multiple options on table, not just Sri Lanka."
(Inputs from PTI)
