12BET India: BCCI will not let 2020 to finish without an IPL

Ruling out the speculation of cancelling this year’s Indian Premier League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief said that hosting the tournament this year in India is their “first priority”. The cash-rich Twenty20 competition, due to begin on March 29 and pushed back to April 15, was postponed indefinitely in April due to the ongoing threats of the coronavirus pandemic.

The BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly, who celebrated his 48th birthday earlier this week, insisted that they would like to host then 13th edition of the IPL this year and their first priority is to have the cash-rich league in the country itself. “We want to have it, as I said that cricket needs to be back,” Sourav Ganguly said on India Today’s Inspiration. “Whatever time we get, even if we get 35-40 days we will host it.”

New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the UAE have offered to host the event in case there are logistical issues in India with the rapid rise in coronavirus cases, with India having the third largest case load of coronavirus cases behind Brazil and USA. “I will put it in this order. Firstly, whether we can (have an IPL) within the time frame as IPL has limited window,” Ganguly further explained.

“Secondly, will it be in India. If it’s not then we think of going out, but where. Because going out becomes very expensive for the board, the franchises because of the currency conversion rates,” Ganguly added. “So, we are monitoring it and we are very keen to host it. We have our fingers crossed, we don’t want the year 2020 to finish without an IPL.”

Earlier this week, an official confirmed that New Zealand expressed its interest in hosting the competition. “Staging the event in India has to be the first choice, but in case it’s not safe to have it, then we will look at the overseas options. After UAE and Sri Lanka, New Zealand has also offered to host the IPL,” the official said.

Earlier, reports claims that the competition, due to begin on March 29 and pushed back to April 15, will be set to commence with the idea of “one city only tournament” in October. Despite the the worst-hit cities in India the same report claims that the BCCI is looking to host the 2020 edition of the IPL in Mumbai, maintaining a bio-bubble, according to the same rep

The delay in taking a final call on the fate of the T20 World Cup is also keeping the BCCI bosses and other IPL stakeholders waiting. However, the “fed up” Indian board through BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal earlier this week said that BCCI is making plans for resumption from September, citing examples of sports league in the world that successfully restarted in the wake of the pandemic.

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