When the legends speak the world listen. The two former captains of the Indian cricket Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammed Azharuddin speaking at Salaam Cricket 2020 said the Indian Premier League 2020 is possible this year provided some changes and adjustments are made to the itineraries and the IPL format.
Legendary India batsman Sunil Gavaskar said the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 can be held in September-October if the T20 World Cup is postponed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). But Sunil Gavaskar, 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 overseas in either Sri Lanka or the UAE, given the two cricket boards have offered to host the cash-rich T20 league.
IPL 2020 Plan 1 comes from Legend Sunil Gavaskar
According to Gavaskar, IPL 2020 is still feasible this year if BCCI does two alterations to the format of IPL.
– First take the IPL 2020 Overseas
– Second reduce the number of matches per team from 14 to 7
Gavaskar said a shortened tournament will be feasible, considering the restrictions and safety protocols in the wake of the Covid19 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. Maybe, Sri Lanka or UAE can host the IPL,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Australian government’s latest announcement positive sign for T20 World Cup, bad for IPL 2020 : Gavaskar
While the ICC has deferred the final call on T20 World Cup to July, Australia will allow crowds of up to 10,000 at small stadiums to watch sport as part of plans to ease social distancing restrictions in July, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said. This development according to Gavaskar makes thing positive for T20 World Cup and diminishes hopes of IPL 2020.
“After hearing what the Australian govt said, it seems like the T20 World Cup can happen. Players will have to reach Australia earlier than usual for the 14-day quarantine period and then for the practice matches. If the ICC accepts that the tournament will have to happen then it will be difficult to hold the IPL. If the T20 World Cup got cancelled then only the IPL window was possible, Gavaskar said.
IPL 2020 Plan 2 comes from Mohammad Azharuddin
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin said the Indian Premier League is an important tournament for Indian players a well as overseas players. He said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should look to host the IPL after it was postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-10 pandemic. But how the IPL 2020 can be organized ?
Azhar’s take on how IPL 2020 can be organized ?
According to Azhar like T20 World Cup, IPL 2020 too is a very critical for the world of cricket as everyone gets benefitted out of it. Azharuddin was also critical of a few former Australian cricekters who said that IPL benefits only the Indian board. Azhar said it was a wrong thing to say as the IPL helped everyone make money. That is the reason advice which Azhar gives is that everyone should get together and sort
the window for both IPL 2020 and the T20 World Cup.
“I hope the IPL also happens because a lot of people are connected with it, Indian players and international as well. The boards also need to sit and decide on the T20 World Cup as soon as possible.”
“According to me the first tournament which was scheduled that is important. T20 World Cup is already in the itinerary. But all this can only happen after the vaccine comes. The IPL is very important, because everybody has to gain from this.
“Some former Aussie seamers said IPL is a money-grab for the Indian board. But it is actually true for everybody, even the overseas players. People should not say such things because it is an important tournament and the board should look to hold it,” he said.
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