The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is discussing all the possible options to hold the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
But according to an IANS report, the board’s decision-makers are not on the same page when it comes to the tournament’s hosting rights. While three of them want the T20 league to be staged in India, there are a couple of voices in favour of taking it outside the country if needed.
See Also: "IPL will be perfect for us to return to cricketing action with": Deepak Chahar
The IPL 2020, which was initially slated to start on March 29, remains suspended “until further notice” due to COVID-19 pandemic.
"See, it is a case of the decision makers being divided 3-2 if that is how you wish to understand the current scenario. Without going into the names of who said what, all I can tell you is that the general feeling is that having the league in India would not only be a sign of positivity amongst the people of the country, but will also help as we will not need to travel abroad and act to a fresh set of guidelines,” a BCCI official told IANS.
"But then, there are a couple of voices who also feel that having the tournament should be the priority and if that means taking it out of the country, so be it. So, while we are working on the overall plan, the venue is an area which will need further deliberation. Also, at the end of the day safety of the players and everyone involved is priority," the official explained.
An official of a franchise echoed the sentiments and said that priority should always be having the tournament in the country.
"See, if you have the league in the country, it is a positive signal to not just the world, but also to the people in India that we have managed to get back to normalcy. Also, the expenses go up quite a bit if you go outside. So, for us and I think for most of the teams, India would be the preferred choice," the official said.
According to the media reports, the BCCI is eyeing October-November window for IPL 13 if the T20 World Cup, slated to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15, gets postponed owing to the deadly outbreak.
Last week, the ICC deferred a decision on the 2020 edition of T20 World Cup till June 10, saying it wants to look at contingency plans for some more time.
(With IANS inputs)
