IPL to be staged in empty stadiums says BCCI President Sourav Ganguly.

The suspended T20 cricketing league can only resume in India after the monsoon and staging it abroad in a Covid-19 affected world will be very risky, all options being worked upon.

For the first time, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made an internal communication to its associated state units that plans are being prepared to stage the suspended T20 Indian Premier League (IPL), this year. BCCI made this move after the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to take some more time to determine the fate of the October-November scheduled T20 World Cup in Australia, this year.

IPL matches might be played in empty stadiums:

In a letter BCCI President and former Indian team captain, Sourav Ganguly wrote, “The BCCI is working on all possible options to ensure that we are able to stage the IPL this year, even if it means playing the tournament in empty stadiums. The fans, players, franchises, broadcasters, sponsors and all other stakeholders are keenly looking forward to the possibility of IPL being hosted this year.” Ganguly also said that a lot of national and international players have expressed their desire on being the part of the league this year itself.

Ganguly didn’t mention a particular time frame, but sources say that BCCI can only stage the IPL in India post the monsoon season, i.e. not before September. The BCCI offices are devising a plan tirelessly, to create a window for the T20 league. If the IPL doesn’t take place this year, then the BCCI will incur losses worth 4000 crores.

Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) is also being developed by the BCCI for the resumption of training activities in the midst of a surge in Covid-19 infections in the country. The SOPs will be sent to all the cricket associations after properly consulting the medical professionals.