Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey, who was scheduled to make his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut this season with the Delhi Capitals (DC), believes that the IPL 2020 might not take place this year because of the ongoing global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The deadly outbreak of the coronavirus has put the entire world under lockdown and the sporting world is one of the worst affected due to the global pandemic with almost all the sporting events including cricket tournaments have either been postponed or canceled across the world.
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Now, the world’s marquee franchise event IPL has to bear the brunt of this constantly escalating situation due to the COVID-19 outbreak, as the 13th edition of the tournament, which was earlier postponed to 15 April, is now officially suspended indefinitely.
Following the latest development, Carey, who earned his maiden IPL contract after the DC brought the Australian southpaw for INR 2.40 Crore at the auction last year, was ruing the lost opportunity as the star cricket believes that the IPL 13 “might not go ahead” given the current situation.
However, Australian vice-captain was optimistic about things improving soon and the IPL 2020 and T20 World Cup 2020 will go ahead later in the season.
Carey said in a Cricket Australia video release, “Currently, at this stage, it is looking likely that it might not go ahead. It would have been nice to be in Delhi and playing cricket. It was my first time selected to be a part of the IPL.”
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He added, “I'm sure the world will move in the way we want it to, and there's still that hope later in the season the IPL will go ahead and the T20 World Cup 2020, but we'll wait and see.”
The left-hander is also seeing a positive thing in the current situation, saying: “I look at it as I'm healthy, safe, and getting to spend a lot of time with my family. It was a big couple of years on the cricket field, so to have to spend time at home is quite nice.”
The 28-year-old further said that no one knows when the ongoing crisis will end but feels it is a 'good opportunity' for the busy players to refresh and recharge amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
Carey signed off by saying, “It's a difficult one at the moment because we're just so uncertain of how long this might carry on for... At the moment, I'm seeing it as a really good opportunity for the guys to refresh and recharge.”
(With PTI Inputs)
