'Looking at a September 25-November 1 window': BCCI keen on hosting IPL 2020

The Indian Premier League (IPL) was set to begin from March 29, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the cash-rich event has been postponed indefinitely by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

However, BCCI is now looking at the possibility of hosting the 13th edition from September 25 to November 1, provided the country is able to lower the rate of COVID-19 cases.

According to IANS, sources said that while it is still early, the BCCI is looking to zoom in on the end-September to November period. “It is still early days as a lot of other things have to fall in place for this to materialise, but yes, the BCCI is looking at a September 25-November 1 window provided the number of cases in the country comes down and the government does give a go-ahead. As I said, a lot of things do need to fall in place, but yes, these dates are being talked about and contingency planning is on,” the source said.

An official of one of the IPL franchises also said that they were indeed working keeping an eye on the end-September to the early-November window. The reason being as it would take at least a month’s planning leading up to the league.

“Yes, we have been told that we should plan with an eye on these dates, and in fact, we are looking to plan our build-up in such a manner. But then again, it all depends on the country’s position with regards to the pandemic. There is no denying that we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that the government will continue with the brilliant job they have done and we will see a drop in the number of cases per day,” the official said, IANS reported.

Another IPL official said that while they are aiming for that window period, a lot of clarity will need to come with regards to logistics and the on-ground preparations.

“Yes, we have been told about the window, but nothing yet on the venues or how to go about the logistics. We need to understand those sides as part of the next step of preparation as foreign players will need to come in and we have to ensure that government directives with regards to fighting the pandemic are fully abided by. I am sure we will get more clarity as time moves forward as preparations will start to say around mid-August if we have to play our first match around the end of September,” the official explained.

While all this is being prepared, BCCI will have to keep the T20 World Cup in mind. If the IPL needs to go according to the desired wind, the T20 World Cup needs to be postponed first as it is still panned to be played from October 18 to November 15 in Australia.