IPL to be truncated if it happens: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

The BCCI on Saturday (March 14) discussed the option of conducting a curtailed Indian Premier League with the eight franchise owners in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to the event being suspended by a fortnight.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly Ganguly said, “It will be curtailed, because if it is April 15, then, in any case 15 days are gone, it has to be truncated. How truncated, how many games, I can’t say at the moment.”

The world’s richest board on Friday (March 13) suspended the tournament from March 29 to April 15 and also called off the ODI series against South Africa.

“There were six to seven options discussed during the meeting between team owners and BCCI including a curtailed IPL,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity after the meeting in Mumbai.

Related news: COVID-19 effect: BCCI suspends Indian Premier League till April 15

In India, there have been two deaths and 89 positive COVID-19 cases, resulting in a government directive to shut the fans out of sporting events to avoid large gatherings.

The source also confirmed that shifting the tournament abroad was not discussed at all in the meeting.

Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia said: “BCCI, IPL and (official broadcaster) Star (Sports) are clear that we are not looking at financial loss.”

The BCCI, during the meeting attended by President Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah, Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan among others, reiterated its previous statement of prioritising fan, athlete, and employee safety.

Related news: BCCI to reschedule India-South Africa series amid COVID-19 scare

“The board will continue to monitor and work closely with Government of India, state governments and other state regulatory bodies to decide on the future course of action in the best interest of public health,” it added.

2/2. Hope the spread of the virus subsides & the show can go on. BCCI & team owners in consultation with the govt will keep a close watch & decide the way fwd in the health interest of ever1. Lovely 2 meet every1 & then sanitise ourselves repeatedly..@SGanguly99 @JayShah #BPatel

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 14, 2020

In other news, an official from the IPL told Sportstar that amid coronavirus threat the BCCI is left with no choice but to defer the start of the tournament for now.

“If at all the IPL starts, it would be around April 20 but the decision will be made around April 10. If the tournament doesn’t start by April 20, it will have to be deferred till the next year,” an official who didn’t want to be named revealed to Sportstar.

The official also briefed that the six-week window from April 21 till May 31 will be enough to host at least 60 matches if there are multiple double-header games. However, the decision depends on the extent of the spread of the COVID-19 infection in the country by the first week of April.

The deadly coronavirus has resulted in more than 5,000 deaths globally.

(With inputs from agencies)