Amid the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the cricketing calendar has received a major jolt. Various boards are furiously working out on revising their schedules with a view of getting the game back on track – with or without spectators. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also had to postpone the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) for an indefinite period. Meanwhile, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has revealed that they incur massive losses if IPL doesn’t take place this year.
Meanwhile, the 13th season of the T20 blitz was scheduled to commence from March 29. However, BCCI had to postpone it to April 14 after the first lockdown. And with no signs of improvement, the Sourav Ganguly-led panel had to defer the tournament for an indefinite period.
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However, BCCI didn’t rule out all the chances of hosting IPL 2020. They are keenly looking at the Future Tour Programs after the lockdown ends to decide on the future course of actions. During a situation when all cricketing boards are cutting pays of the cricketers, BCCI is yet to do so. However, Sourav Ganguly admitted that they will examine the financial situation soon as no IPL will incur Rs 4,000 crore loss.
“We will have to examine our financial situation, see how much money we have and take a call. Not hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) will cause losses to the tune of R4,000 crore which is huge,” Ganguly told mid-day.
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But Sourav Ganguly categorically mentioned that if IPL takes place, then they won’t have to go for pay cuts as he believes BCCI can manage the finances. The former India skipper also ruled out the idea of five-Test series against Australia proposed by Cricket Australia to arrest their financial woes.
“If the IPL takes place, we won’t have to go in for pay cuts. We’ll manage things,” remarked Ganguly.
“I don’t think it will be possible for India to participate in five Tests. There will be limited-overs games and plus we have to consider the 14-day quarantine guidelines. All this will extend the tour,” Ganguly concluded.