Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Board of Control of Cricket in India, has asked the cricketing associations to work on every possible scenario for holding the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The decision on IPL is deferred as the situations created by the Coronavirus pandemic have halted the cricketing activities. IPL was all set to be commenced by 29th March but several extensions in the lockdown by Indian PM have postponed the league till further notice.
However, if T20 World Cup cancels, BCCI can look forward to the October-November window for holding the cash-rich league. They are ready to survive under any circumstances for holding IPL in 2020, even behind closed doors.
The owners have gotten clash in their relationships as a few franchises support the idea of dragging the tournament behind closed doors, whereas the others don’t.
The owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is satisfied with the decision and thinks it will be okay to go like this following safety guideline and dragging the game.
IPL franchises owners divided over hosting IPL 2020 behind closed doors
“Firstly, the primary focus will be the health & safety of all concerned – fans, players, support staff & everyone involved. So detailed protocol has been developed for that. Secondly, if & when the IPL 2020 season takes place, we all understand that it will be without fans and spectators in the stadium.
So everyone is not only prepared for that but also believes it is appropriate given the risks of the pandemic. However, there are many creative ideas being curated by leveraging technology that will come as a pleasant surprise to fans and the players,” said Mysore as quoted by Times Now.
Delhi Capital’s owner also agrees with KKR’s opinion.
“It seems like the only option at the moment. It will still be profitable as gate money is only 15-20% of our entire revenue. It won’t be the same without fans, everyone can agree on it, but it’s the only option for any sport right now,” said Malhotra.
However, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) seem to be opposing the idea declaring that a tournament like IPL cannot go ahead in the empty stadiums.
