BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has effectively ruled out India’s chances of hosting the IPL this year amidst the worsening of COVID-19 situation. The T20 extravaganza, originally slated to commence from March 29, was postponed for an indefinite period.
Earlier, BCCI was flirting with the idea of conducting the tournament in the September-November period. Considering the rapid increase in coronavirus cases in India, it now appears like a far-fetched proposal. The last resort would be to move the tournament to other nations.
In a chat with Indian opener Mayank Agarwal, Ganguly said the upcoming months are going to be a bit difficult as there’s no sign of improvement in the country. He said, “I think the next two-three-four months will be a little tough. We will just have to bear it, and by the end of the year or beginning of next year, life should be back to normal.”
“I will wait for the vaccine to come out. Till then, yes, we will have to be a little more careful…we know what’s happening and we don’t want to fall sick. Saliva is an issue. Maybe once the vaccine comes out, just like any other illness, everything will be fine,” he further added.
Ganguly optimistically remarked that life would be back to normal by the end of the year.
“Hopefully, by the end of this year we all should be fine.”
New Zealand, having conquered the virus successfully, has come up with a proposal to host the lucrative league if it can’t be staged in India. Previously both UAE and Sri Lanka had offered to host the league.
“Staging the event in India has to be the first choice but in case it is not safe to have it, then we will look at the overseas options. After UAE and Sri Lanka, New Zealand has also offered to host the IPL,” a senior BCCI official stated to a news agency.
