The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) co-owner Ness Wadia reckons that focus should be more on to make sure that not a single COVID-19 case is reported during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, which according to him, is set to be the “best ever”. As the Chinese mobile phone brand Vivo has pulled out of title sponsorship for this season, there are certain chancs they will back out from the ₹440 crore per year contract from next season given as the Indo-China tension are increasing each passing day. 

Talking about the same during a chat woth PTI, Wadia said, “There is much speculation going on. I think it is ridiculous. The only thing we (team owners) know is that the IPL is happening. We are very concerned about the safety of the players and all others involved. Even if there is one case, the IPL could be doomed. All the team owners had a productive meeting and are on the same page to make IPL a success.”

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In the current economic climate, Wadia expects the sponsors, whether the team or IPL, will be doing some hard negociations. 

Talking about the same, Ness Wadia said, “All the sponsors are going to negotiate hard but I will change my name if it is not the most-watched IPL ever. It will be the best ever IPL. You mark my words. Sponsors would be foolish not to be part of IPL this year. It would be a wrong commercial decision on their part to not be a part of the IPL. I truly believe that if I was a sponsor, I would jump right in.”

The BCCI has sent an huge 16-page SOP to teams in order to make sure that the operations of the tournament goes moothly. It requires players, support staff, team officials, and owners to be part of a bio-secure environment. Wadia has hence decided not to travel to the UAE for the IPL but said safety can’t be compromised.

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Wadia explained, “We have to adjust and acclimatise to the (bio-secure) environment. One case could kill the IPL. Extraneous circumstances require ordinary people to do extraordinary things.”