Unclear which country would host IPL if it goes ahead, admits Sourav Ganguly

In what has come as a one-of-a-kind tussle for the BCCI, the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has left the board in a precarious position with respect to the future of the thirteenth edition of the IPL, with hopes of the tournament going ahead in 2020 hanging by a slender thread. As things stand, there are multiple hurdles that stand the tournament’s way, with the uncertainty over dates, continued spread of the virus and the World T20 potentially taking place being three of them amongst others.

Speaking on the future of the tournament, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly admitted that the organizers are currently in no position to take a call, given the chaos and uncertainty that’s currently unfolding across the world. Ganguly, despite stating that India would be the preferred choice to host the IPL, admitted that the board are currently unsure on where the IPL will be hosted should the tournament go ahead.

“If at all, IPL does happen, we don’t know where it could happen. India would certainly like to host the event, provided the environment is safe. Right now, we are not in a position to say anything. It is too early,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“We are yet to officially discuss the IPL schedule. But it depends on the safety of the environment. Saving human life and breaking the coronavirus chain are more important for all of us.”

With almost the entire planet having overseen the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, talks about resuming normalcy, slowly but steadily, have begun and India, too, have considerably eased lockdown regulations, implementing an ‘exit strategy’ of sorts to get things back and running. However, Ganguly, who is rumoured to be eyeing the chairman position in ICC, admitted that predicting the future right now is an impossible task and cast his doubts over the sport of cricket resuming anytime soon.

“We can’t say what will happen in the days to come. It is tough to predict. We are looking at all options. We are still not sure when cricket could resume.”