Most likely to be a truncated IPL, reveals Sourav Ganguly

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said on Saturday that the 13th edition of IPL can only be truncated one provided the situation improves after suspending the big event till April 15 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian Cricket Board, on Friday, postponed the start of this year's IPL from March 29 to April 15 in wake of the pandemic, which has caused massive upheaval across the globe.

The BCCI also made the call on Friday to suspend India’s ODI series against South Africa. The board decided to reschedule the remaining two matches of the one-day international series against South Africa. As a result of this decision the two matches scheduled to be played in Lucknow and Kolkata now stand cancelled. The Indian cricket board, on Saturday, also suspended all the remaining domestic games including the Irani Cup, which was scheduled to be played on March 18.

“It will happen, 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. We will monitor further. Safety is most important and with the current situation with what is going around the world and in India, with government directives, we have even postponed the remaining domestic matches,” said Ganguly as quoted by Times of India.

The decisions to postpone the cash-rich league and the ODI rubber were taken hours after the Delhi government suspended all sporting activity in the national capital due to the ever-growing health crisis. Delhi is home to the Delhi Capitals IPL franchise. In the meeting between the franchise owners and the BCCI brass, six to seven options were discussed, including a curtailed IPL.

"We met with the owners, to tell them how it can happen and where do we stand at the moment. At the moment, it is just postponed. We will assess the situation. It will be reassessed every week. I can't say at the moment (about any deadline). I has to be worked around. As much as we want to host the IPL, we also need to be careful about the security."

There is a possibility that the tournament could feature more double-headers than previously planned and at least five optional venues are being kept ready after state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi refused permission for the games.