The BCCI will be under tremendous pressure as canceling the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) looks inevitable after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a 21-day lockdown to control the outbreak of the coronavirus. When the BCCI had suspended the IPL to April 15 earlier this month, it had said hosting the 13th edition of the IPL would only come into the picture if the situation around the pandemic improves.
However, things have gone from bad to worse since then with cases surging towards the 550-mark in India. Speaking to PTI, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly did not have much to say considering the grim scenario.
Describing the same, Ganguly said, “I can’t say anything at the moment. We are at the same place where we were on the day we postponed. Nothing has changed in the last 10 days. So, I don’t have an answer to it. Status quo remains.”
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Kings XI Punjab owner Ness Wadia was more straightforward. As per the quotes in PTI, he said, “The BCCI should really consider postponing the IPL now. As a premier event, we need to act with great responsibility. The contemplation of IPL is inhuman right now. We need to save lives, not IPL. Let’s say even if the situation improves by May and I hope it does, who is going to come and play? Will the (foreign players) be even allowed to enter the country?”
Earlier on Tuesday, the conference call of BCCI officials and franchise owners was postponed as the COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the country and around the world. The star-studded eight-team tournament was originally scheduled to start on March 29 in Mumbai.
It seems the BCCI is delaying the inevitable announcement hoping against hope for things to improve. Describing the same, a BCCI official said, “If Olympics can be postponed by a year, IPL is a much smaller entity in that regard. It is becoming increasingly difficult to organize. At this point, the government is not even thinking about allowing foreign visas.”
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Currently, each stakeholder is discussing ways to limit the financial damage with insurance companies as well as broadcasters.
Another BCCI official said, “With 21-day lockdown, it is virtually impossible that things will return to normalcy by April 14. It might improve but a lot of restrictions will be in place. So it will be foolish not to cancel the league.”
