Former legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar Saturday backed Sri Lanka to host this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in September-October if the T20 World Cup is postponed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Sunil Gavaskar, speaking at Aaj Tak TV Channel’s exclusive show Salaam Cricket, said even if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secures a window for IPL 2020, it will not be ideal to host the tournament in India due to the possible monsoon during September and October.
Gavaskar said the BCCI can think about hosting IPL 2020 in Sri Lanka, given the neighboring cricket boards has offered to host the cash-rich T20 league. Sri Lanka is among the few countries to have managed the pandemic to a large extent, has already got its players into training together.
Meanwhile, Gavskar also said a shortened tournament will be feasible, considering the restrictions and safety protocols in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If the IPL is held in Sri Lanka from September then it might be possible. If you play somewhere overseas then the home and away factor won’t be there. So instead of the 14 matches per team, the tournament will be reduced to maybe 7 matches per team. That might be possible and only then maybe the IPL can happen. Then we can have IPL in September-October, not in India because there can be monsoon at that time. In my opinion Sri Lanka is the safest among all cricket playing nations” Sunil Gavaskar said.
IPL 2020 has been postponed until further notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the tournament has missed the April-May window, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, in a letter to state associations and stakeholders, said the cricket board is hopeful of hosting the T20 World Cup.
IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel has indicated that the BCCI is looking at the September-October window for hosting the IPL. The BCCI at the moment is waiting for the International Cricket Council to announce its decision on the T20 World Cup.
Keeping the IPL in India remains BCCI’s first priority, but considering the fact that most of the metros are witnessing a spike in coronavirus cases, Tier-II cities have become the second option. However, with things not looking good even in Indore and Mohali, the board is left with little to choose from even there.
Had the situation been better in Mumbai, the BCCI would have been able to use Wankhede Stadium, and the DY Patil and Brabourne Stadiums and even Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. However, with the state now the worst hit, that possibility is ruled out.
