IPL 2020 can take place if it starts in May first week: BCCI official

There are lots of doubts regarding the hosting of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to suspend the league until April 15. The restrictions put by the Indian government had forced the board to take such a step and not start the tournament as scheduled on March 29.

Since then, speculations are rife over the IPL even happening this year. However, if the recent reports are to be believed, the BCCI official has revealed that the tournament can still happen if the opening match takes place in the first week of May. According to him, BCCI can take ideas from how they had organised the IPL in 2009 when the tournament had to be shifted to South Africa due to the Lok Sabha elections.

The official emphasised that the tournament can only be held if things are sorted by the end of April and the tournament begins in the first week of May.

In 2009, 59 games were played in just 37 days

“The latest we can wait is till the end of April. If the first game isn’t played by the first week of May then it will be almost impossible to have the league this year. Even if we have to wait until the end of April to follow all the procedures, we can take a cue from the South Africa edition and conduct the league successfully.

“If you remember, that was the shortest IPL with 59 games played over 37 days and we can do the same. But certain measures will have to be taken,” the official was quoted as saying by News18. Upon being asked about the logistics, the official said that the tournament can be held in Maharashtra where there are four International stadiums available. This will also reduce the amount of travelling and also ensure that the matches are played on fresh wickets.

“You cannot travel around the country in such a scenario. If we get the necessary permissions, we will have to stick to a place like Maharashtra where we have three stadiums in Mumbai and a stadium in Pune. I am sure this will then help us ensure that teams not only get fresh wickets to play but also there is minimal travel involved.

But before that, the government must deem it fit to organise tournaments. Public and player safety is the priority as the BCCI President has time and again said,” the official elaborated. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had recently talked about the chances of IPL being shortened. Though he also went on to say that it will be too early for him to comment on anything.