Indian sports received a boost on Sunday after the Central government announced the reopening of the stadiums and Stadia to function even during the lockdown 4.0. This announcement gave a ray of hope to the IPL fans and a probable window the for the cash-rich league to be held later in the year.
Despite several cricket board and players suggesting various window to conduct IPL as it is not just good for cricketers in terms of their earning but also great in terms of cricketing standard which top-class cricketers display on the field.
Out of all these suggestions, there has been no official confirmation coming from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on whether the 13th edition of the IPL will take place this year or not.
According to BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal, “No plans could be put in perspective considering the restrictions at the moment at International and local level.”
“The IPL at the moment is not possible because travel restrictions are still there. So, how can you have the IPL without any travel happening? We are studying these guidelines and will study state governments’ guidelines also. Accordingly, we will plan,” Dhumal told The Indian Express.
As per the reports, the T20 world cup in Australia is likely to get postponed and it will give hope for IPL fans that they can witness the matches in October-November window. There is a different story regarding IPL which is circulating at the moment where franchises are waiting for the next few weeks before commenting anything on the IPL schedule. In fact, they are readily accepting the idea of having the matches behind closed doors.
As a statement came from Kings XI Punjab CEO, Satish Menon in an interview “The onus will be on BCCI and the Indian government whether they think IPL13 can be organized anytime soon. I think the safety of players and the nation comes first. It would be great for the players, franchises, and the brand if IPL happens even if it is behind closed doors…”
However, the Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Vishwanathan said that teams would be ready to play without fans based on the situation where he added that “If that is the final thing, that’s what we will have to do. At this point, we can’t expect crowds to come in at all. Let us see how it works out,” he said. “It’s a big positive (government order), (but) we will have to wait and see when people are allowed to come out. They have opened the stadiums, now people (players, support staff, officials) have to come out. Players have to come and practice… we will have to see how it works out. Too early, let’s wait for a week or 10 days, we will know. First, they will have to maintain the grounds; we don’t know in what shape the wickets and stadiums are. Within a week we will know what will happen,”
