T20 leagues will be held more than international cricket in the post Coronavirus world: Harsha Bhogle

The coronavirus outbreak has created a situation of crisis across the globe and most of the countries are going through lockdowns. In India, more than 50,000 people have tested positive and over 1700 deaths have been witnessed. There is absolutely no certainty when the situation will get better.

With that, all sorts of sporting events have been cancelled throughout the world. The much-awaited IPL 2020 has also been postponed until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. With no sporting action in the picture, many cricketers are resorting to Twitter and Instagram to provide their fans with some entertainment.

Joining the bandwagon recently was commentator Harsha Bhogle, who was live on Instagram on Wednesday. Bhogle dished out his opinion over a lot of issues and also talked about the losses which the cricket boards have incurred due to the pandemic. The well-known commentator also opined that the world will probably witness more T20 leagues in the near future after the COVID-19 pandemic eventually subsides.

In the live session, Harsha Bhogle was asked by a fan whether if spectators would be willing to sit in the stands and witness a five-day Test match after the coronavirus subsides. In reply, Bhogle said that he believes Test cricket will go on as usual and cited the example of Cricket Australia, who reportedly is thinking of hosting India for a five-match Test series at a single venue later this year.

Harsha Bhogle opens up on the financial aspect of boards

However, Bhogle also added that most cricket boards will focus on hosting T20 leagues for a couple of years. Most boards have incurred heavy losses amid the COVID-19 outbreak and hence, those boards will try their best to remunerate the losses which they have suffered.

Bhogle also opined that a high-profile and cash-rich tournament like the IPL will generate more revenue for the BCCI. On the other hand, playing in an ICC event might help smaller nations but the bigger countries will be burdened even more as they are major contributors to ICC revenues.

Bhogle, in a recent tweet, had also predicted that he won’t be surprised if the much-anticipated IPL 2020 takes place instead of the T20 World Cup in the October-November window when India has probably recovered from the pandemic.

Major T20 leagues like Big Bash League and Indian Premier League generate hefty revenues for their respective boards and hence, the boards will prioritize such tournaments. If IPL 2020 gets cancelled this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and all the stakeholders involved with the tournament will reportedly incur a major loss over INR 3800 crores.