Almost three months after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) on March 13, the league’s governing council chairman Brijesh Patel sounded optimistic about the prospects of staging the tournament in 2020, in an interview with The Hindu. Excerpts:
How much have things changed in these three months vis-a-vis IPL 2020?
A lot, I would say. There was a lot of uncertainty back then.
Now everyone is cautiously looking for a way forward, so we are quite positive about hosting the IPL this year.
Obviously it all depends on the ICC [International Cricket Council] to take a call on the T20 World Cup.
Since the T20 World Cup and the IPL are interlinked, in terms of the availability of the window, do you expect the T20 World Cup to be postponed shortly?
They can’t leave it till the last minute. All the teams have to prepare if they are going ahead with it. Otherwise all the alternative plans have to be in place. They should decide shortly.
If the World Cup cannot happen, each Board will have to think of how to utilise the October window in consultation with the respective governments.
How optimistic are you about the fans being able to witness the IPL in 2020?
I am quite optimistic. See, we are looking at the September-October window as of now, depending on the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup.
And I am optimistic that we can play the IPL this year.
If it happens, will the 13th edition of the IPL be played in India, Sri Lanka or the United Arab Emirates?
They [Emirates Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket] have informed us that they are prepared to host the IPL.
But our first preference is India, if we get the government’s permission.
It is certain that we cannot play at more than three or four venues in India, but the permissions will depend on how the COVID-19 outbreak pans out.
Otherwise we will have to explore playing overseas, which will be the last option.
Once you are playing without spectators, it doesn’t really matter where you are playing as long as it suits television timings.
