3 reasons why IPL will go ahead in 2020

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Charbel Coorey
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3 reasons why IPL will go ahead in 2020 | Why the IPL happen this year? | Will the Indian Premier League go ahead in 2020?

2020 has been a unique year in more ways than one. From a cricketing perspective, it is the first year since 2008 that the IPL hasn’t taken the world by storm. The COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to all cricket back in March, which resulted in the indefinite postponement of the showpiece domestic T20 tournament, despite originally moving it from March 29 to April 15 in the attempt to get it started.

However, there is every chance that the IPL will still go ahead in 2020. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has stated that Indian cricket is working on all options to stage the tournament, and circumstances may very well allow for cricket fans to see the IPL this year.

Here, we will go through three key reasons why the IPL will go ahead in 2020.

1. T20 World Cup “unlikely” to go ahead

According to Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings, the T20 World Cup is “unlikely” to go ahead this year. Eddings, speaking soon after CA sacked CEO Kevin Roberts, was confident in delivering the message that expecting the T20 World Cup to go ahead this year is “unrealistic”.

“I sit on the ICC and we’re having meetings as we speak,” Eddings said. “It’s a bit of a moving feast at the moment. I’d say it’s unlikely, while it hasn’t been formally called off this year or postponed, trying to get 16 countries into Australia in the current world where most countries are still going through COVID-19 spiking, I think it’s unrealistic or would be very, very difficult. We’ve put forward a number of different options to the ICC we’re working through at the moment.”

With the IPL looking at the September-November window, during which the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be staged, this increases the chances of the tournament going ahead.

Also read: Will the T20 World Cup go ahead? 3 reasons it most likely won’t

2. IPL willing to stage the tournament overseas

The IPL chairman, Brijesh Patel, has stated that staging the IPL outside India is a real possibility.

Given that India is fighting hard to contain COVID-19, hosting the tournament overseas is the safest option. The fact that the IPL is willing to do so, with the experience of overseas tournaments in the past (South Africa & UAE), increases the chances of the tournament going ahead.

Also, countries around the globe, such as Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, have had success in reducing the impact of COVID-19. In fact, New Zealand had full crowds for rugby matches last week, and Australia is set to welcome crowds at certain grounds by July.

3 reasons why IPL will go ahead in 2020 | Why the IPL will happen in 2020 | Will the Indian Premier League go ahead in 2020?
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3. Financial loss is too much to withstand

The BCCI is estimated to lose a whopping Rs. 4,000 crore (US$529.6M) if the IPL doesn’t go ahead in 2020. Given that India generates a significant percentage of the ICC’s revenue (approximately 80%), organisers will do everything they can to ensure the tournament goes ahead.

This is particularly the case if the T20 World Cup doesn’t go ahead. Which is looking more likely with each passing day.

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