Sunil Gavaskar suggests a shortened IPL to be held in Sri Lanka or UAE in September

There have been reports regarding the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 surfacing all across the internet. With the fate of the T20 World Cup not decided yet, many are speculating that it will take place in October-November window. Either way, the IPL chairman Brijesh Patel, confirmed a few days back that BCCI is looking for the September to November window to organise the cash-rich league.

Going by his words,  it seems that the board could in fact go ahead with a tournament behind the closed doors. If that happens, it would be a huge loss of revenue with no gate passes money, but it will still be okay for BCCI as their media rights will be in place. During a recent interaction, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar talked about the possibilities of having an IPL this year.

If the T20 World Cup gets cancelled, then only the IPL window is possible: Sunil Gavaskar

According to Gavaskar, the IPL could be held in Sri Lanka or UAE in September. He pointed out that hosting the tournament in India could be problematic during that window as it will be the monsoon season in the country. He also suggested a reduction in the number of matches. Going by Gavaskar’s proposal, all teams will play each other once, instead of twice.

“If the IPL is held in Sri Lanka from September then it might be possible. If you play somewhere overseas then the home and away factor won’t be there. So instead of the 14 matches per team, the tournament will be reduced to maybe 7 matches per team. That might be possible and only then maybe the IPL can happen.

“Then we can have IPL in September-October, not in India because there can be monsoon at that time. Maybe, Sri Lanka or UAE can host the IPL,” Sunil Gavaskar said during India Today’s Salaam Cricket 2020.

The former batting genius of the Indian team also talked about the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He said that the only way IPL can be held is if the T20 World Cup is cancelled. However, Gavaskar noted that the Australian government has shown confidence in holding the tournament.

“After hearing what the Australian govt said, it seems like the T20 World Cup can happen. Players will have to reach Australia earlier than usual for the 14-day quarantine period and then for the practice matches. If the ICC accepts that the tournament will have to happen then it will be difficult to hold the IPL. If the T20 World Cup got cancelled then only the IPL window is possible” the 70-year-old said.

The Australian Sports Minister recently said that the government is trying its best to get the country ready for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in October.