Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said IPL 2020 taking place in UAE amid the COVID-19 pandemic will bring back a sense of normalcy within people and boost their morale disturbed by these troublesome times.
With the postponement of the T20 World Cup, IPL's 13th edition has been given a new window in September-November that it was seeking for long, with the plans to conduct the tournament in bio-secure arrangements in the Middle East, pending government approval.
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"I think sport and sporting economy and its knock-on effect is connected to every other economic activity. It’s a great part of contributing to a nation’s economy. IPL especially and all other tours and tournaments, as we have seen produce not just a tangible economic benefit but also a sense of mental and social well-being," said Sangakkara on India Today's show 'Inspiration'.
"It’s a form of escapism when things are down and out in our part of the world over the years, when you watch a cricket match on TV or at the ground, it kind of brings about a sense that everything is back to normal and then life is actually normalised," he added.
Previously also, IPL has been played in UAE in 2014, but back then it was the general elections here that forced the BCCI to take the one-third part of the league outside India due to security concerns.
This time, however, the logistical challenge alone will be stiffer, given the health threat amid the pandemic and the necessary quarantine rules attached to it.
Sangakkara, though, stressed on his point, saying it'll require a greater effort, but if the league happens as is being planned, it will solve a lot of problems for everyone involved with it and also the fans deprived of their favourite T20 competition.
"Now, we see the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in the way cricket is played in bio-secure environments and at closed stadia where the public has no access. But the fact that millions around the world have access to sporting spectacles through TV, streaming devices has a huge positive impact in terms of mindset, in terms of mental wellbeing, in terms of inspiring young people to take up this wonderful sport."
"Also, like you said, everyone whose livelihood is connected to this. Not just the players, but also the service providers, the broadcasters and the journalists, even the groundsmen and groundswomen around the world, everyone who is connected, it has a huge positive impact."
"And especially, for the UAE, if the IPL is played there, it’s knock-on effect on the local economy there will be extremely huge. For the cricketers, and everyone connected to that, it will be a huge sigh of relief that, yes their livelihood is secure," he concluded.
