The economic impact of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has devastated sports all over the world in a little over two months. Without a cure in sight and a shutdown in cricket extended until June, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) may be thinking of alternatives to deal with this blow.
Among the ideas touted, apart from the cancellation of the 2020 tournament which is booked for August into September, are the barring of overseas players, a reduction of matches, or a rescheduling of the tournament altogether.
With CPL’s main competitor, the Indian Premier League (IPL) being affected too, that tournament could be pushed back and overlap into the CPL’s window.
Should that be the case, the CPL organisers said that they would rather avoid a clash with the IPL especially since the marquee Caribbean players were contracted to IPL franchises.
Should the IPL be cancelled and leave the CPL window intact, a restriction on travelling could possibly see the tournament played in front of empty stadiums and or in only two countries.
Although they have one of the most boisterous crowds since CPL’s birth in 2013, hotspots such as Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago could be the likely hosts.
Should this be the case, Guyana stands to lose a lot financially.
Earlier this year, Chief Operations Officer of ‘the biggest party in sport’, Pete Russell, revealed the tournament had an injection of US$136,542,868 across the Caribbean and grew by 7.2 percent.
According to Rusell, Guyana’s economy benefitted from an injection of whopping US$29,514,926, a growth of 15 percent compared to the previous year.
“The Guyanese economy is moving forward rapidly and we are very pleased to be playing our part in that success. We are already looking forward to putting on more matches of exciting cricket in the country in 2020,” said Russell.
The local hotel industry recorded its best period with 7,664 rooms being occupied and 608 jobs being created. Across the region, the hotel accommodation figures jumped to near 37,000 while employment accounted for 1500.
The COO had stated that there is nothing like cricket in Guyana.
On attendance and support for the tournament in Guyana, Russell said he is overwhelmed with the support.
In addition to the matches, CPL was collaborating with the local tourism industry to showcase some of the attractions Guyana has to offer such as its interior locations, waterfalls, and unique culture to its 312 million viewership worldwide. This figure showed a 102 million viewership increase from the 2018 season.
To date, CPL indicated that it has been in constant communication with medical advisors and Cricket West Indies relating to the situation which was labeled as “evolving” but pointed out nothing was discussed so far about moving the event since the body believes it is too early to do so.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave has already stressed the importance of CPL since it will serve as preparation for the Caribbean side to enter their World T20 title defense in Australia later this year.
