Will the year 2020 conclude with another season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) taking place? The Coronavirus pandemic has already seen some of the major sporting events including the Olympic Games and UEFA Euro being postponed by a year. Now, chances are that the IPL could face the same fate. As for former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra, however, the tournament is 100% possible of the current COVID-19 situation resolves by October.
The start of IPL 13 was scheduled for March 29 but it was then postponed to April 15 in the wake of the growing Coronavirus cases in the country. Only a few days after, the government imposed a 21-day lockdown across the nation which is scheduled to be lifted on April 15.
Though the number of COVID-19 cases has risen from a few hundred to over a thousand already, the chances of the lockdown being removed fully are negligible, even in a case where it does the IPL won’t start on April 15 due to logistical issues.
Though the proposition of hosting the tournament in May or June has also reportedly been discussed, it all depends on how soon the COVID-19 situation resolves. As for Nehra, the tournament could be held as late as in October provided India and rest of the world manage to get their grip over the deadly disease.
“Even if the IPL doesn’t happen in August, there are a lot of places in India that witness rains during that month and there are high chances that lots of matches will get cancelled. If things go back to normal around the world by October, we’ll have a 100% clearance,” Nehra said on the Cricket Connected show on Star Sports.
In a scenario where the IPL is to be cancelled, the impact of such a decision will be huge on both the BCCI as well as the players. Not only will the cricketers lose out on their IPL money but the Indians could also face cut in their wages from the Indian board.
