MUMBAI, India, CMC – Lingering hopes that this year’s Indian Premier League could evade the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic continued to slowly fade, with the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) conceding Monday the future of the lucrative tournament remained “hazy”, in light of yesterday’s much anticipated national address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The tournament, which features the leading Caribbean Twenty20 specialists, was scheduled to start March 29 but pushed back to April 15, to coincide with the lifting of the current nationwide lockdown instituted by government.
But with Modi expected to announce an extension to the curfew by a further two weeks, the chances of the tournament bowling off in the near future have continued to diminish.
“Right now, the picture is very hazy. We don’t even know when the lockdown will end and if we don’t know, how can we even have a meaningful discussion,” BCCI treasurer, Arun Dhumal was quoted as saying here.
“Once we get clarity from the government, we can then sit and take fresh stock of the situation. Any speculation about its future will be premature.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has already disrupted the global sporting calendar, with several international bodies already forced to postpone or cancel events.
And though several cricket series have already fallen victim to the crisis, the BCCI has continued to hold out hope of staging the tournament – the world’s largest T20 franchise tournament.
Several proposals have already come from different quarters which could see the league played at later dates but Dhumal said they all posed logistical challenges, especially with other countries also under lockdown.
“Tell me one thing. If Australia is under lockdown for six months, how can we conclude that they will allow their players to travel from next month?” he queried.
“What if the travel restrictions for its citizens are still in place? How will they come to India then? And don’t forget that other boards also need to agree.
“Secondly, even if the lockdown ends in India, what if some of the major cities still have those COVID ‘hotspots’? Can we risk the lives of our sportspersons? Thirdly, the players are likely to go without training for months.
“Even if we are in a position to conduct a tournament, for international players, we need to give them a bare minimum time to do full-fledged training before we can start a tournament. All these factors can only be clear when we are in a position to discuss.”
Superstars Chris Gayle Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo are among a plethora of West Indies stars contracted to various franchises in the IPL.
