BCCI has postponed the 13th season of the IPL due to coronavirus and after UAE and Sri Lanka, New Zealand has offered to host the IPL 2020. So looking at the rising cases of Coronavirus infection it is not possible to organize IPL in India.
The T20 World Cup which is to be held in Australia in October-November is set to be postponed. This will create a window for the IPL 2020. The BCCI is already considering the possibility of conducting IPL between late September and November.
The first option of the board would be to get it done in India itself. But it is not possible to see the increasing cases of coronavirus in India. After America and Brazil, the highest number of coronavirus cases are in India.
A senior board official said, “Staging the event in India has to be the first choice but in case it is 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.”
He said, “We will sit down with all stakeholders (broadcaster, teams, etc) and take a call. The safety of the players is paramount. There will be no compromise on that.”
Earlier the 2009 season of IPL was held in South Africa due to general elections in India. Subsequently, in 2014, some matches were played in the UAE for the same reason. But despite the elections in 2019, the IPL took place in India only.
If the IPL happens overseas then Emirates is at the forefront of the hosting race. Although New Zealand has become free from coronavirus. But still, there is a difference of seven and a half hours between India and the time of New Zealand.
The official said that the date of the meeting of the IPL Governing Council will be told soon. And in this meeting, all these things and the Chinese sponsorship agreement will be discussed.
The board has a five-year IPL title sponsorship agreement with Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo. Through which BCCI is expected to receive Rs 440 crore annually till 2022.
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