The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has every intention of going ahead with the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). If the tournament doesn’t happen because of any reason, the board will be facing huge losses of as much as ₹4,000 crores. Moreover, they would also have to return ₹2,000 crores or extend the contracts of the media rights holder, title, and other sponsors for another year.
The BCCI has clarified that canceling the tournament won’t go down well for the board. The IPL was earlier scheduled to commence on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium, but the tournament had to be postponed due to the surge of coronavirus cases in the country. India is currently third in the list as far as COVID-19 affected cases are concerned.
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Informing the same during a chat with Economic Times, a senior BCCI official said, “Not conducting IPL means a straight blow of ₹4,000 crores to the board’s topline. We have already received advances of close to ₹2,000 crores. Not delivering IPL will mean either we will have to give it back or extend all the contracts by one year. Both the options are not in favor of the board.”
Earlier, the BCCI was waiting for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take a final call on the T20 World Cup in Australia. However, after both the Asia Cup and T20 WC was postponed, the doors opened up on the IPL.
The official further explained, “If we would have announced the cancellation, Star would ask for a refund and matter would have reached the courts. Also, we were hopeful that the ICC will push the T20 World Cup and a window will be available. And nobody could foresee when the pandemic would subside. But now, we have a real chance for IPL 13 to materialize.”
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The 2020 edition of the IPL can be expected to commence on September 19 with the final can be expected to be played on November 8. The franchises are expected to leave for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in mid-August. The complete schedule for the tournament can be expected to release in a week or so.
