With the upcoming 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 coming close, Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has hinted that a limited audience can be allowed inside the stadiums during the world’s biggest T20 carnival in the United Arab Emirates.
These days, all cricket matches are playing in empty stadiums with the players and support staff instructed to limit themselves at the bio-secure bubble with the number of rules put in place by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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And the upcoming IPL 2020 will also be held in similar conditions as the BCCI and Emirates Cricket Board had previously suggested that the matches will be played with no crowd at the grounds owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, but now, Ganguly hinted at the possibility for the inclusion of limited number of fans.
However, the media pundits and the official broadcaster have already predicted record all-time highest viewership on television and OTT platform this IPL 13 but watching the game live in the stadium is a different experience, as the fans are eagerly waiting for the world’s most loved cricket league to begin following a long Coronavirus-forced hiatus.
Well, now the BCCI President revealed that the organizers may allow 30 percent fans in the stands, maintaining social distancing in the stands following proper testing during the tournament to be held across three venues Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah from 19th September to 10th November.
Ganguly said during an online lecture as part of the ‘Symbiosis Golden Jubilee Lecture Series’: “Because of the COVID and infection, you don’t want people to be too close to each other, but very soon you will see there will be 30 percent people in the ground with social distancing.”
He signed off by saying, “They are properly tested and allowed to enter the ground. But I think that is going to happen over a period of time. We could have easily avoided the IPL…but then, that’s what we humans are and that’s why we have survived all the difficult times.”
