Butler: Nobody Knows How Long This Situation Lasts
England batsman and wicket-keeper Jos Butler says that it is a big shame that a huge tournament like the Indian Premier League is not being played at the moment.
The big-hitting batsman is expecting that the mega tournament might happen sometime later this year.
IPL which was supposed to begin last month has been postponed to April 15th due to the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. The dangerous virus has so far infected more than 4,000 people and killed 120 of them in India.
There is little chance the event might start from the revised date of April 15th. India is under 21day lock-down at present, as ordered by the government of India, to prevent the further spread of the corona infection, which is supposed to end on April 15th.
However there speculations that the lock-down might extend even after 15th for few more days as the number of infections has not slowed down yet.
Butler at present is spending time at his house with his family as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has canceled all the cricket events in the light of coronavirus health crisis.
The English batsman who plays for Rajasthan Royals in IPL acknowledged the importance of the cash-rich tournament.
Butler said he is not sure when the IPL will be held as he feels that no one knows how long this situation lasts.
“I don’t know any more than you know about when IPL would be played or people talking about whether it can be pushed back. At the moment, everything is quite indefinite as no one knows how long it will last. So it can’t be decided at the moment when it could or could not happen,” Buttler said.
“IPL Revenue Is Important For Cricket”
He also believes that the revenue the tournament generates is massive and important for cricket and it’s a shame it is not going ahead.
He added, “As for the stature of the tournament, it’s a massive, massive tournament. Revenue that is involved in IPL is massive. It is a very important competition for cricket and it’s a big shame that it’s not going ahead or whether it does have the way to push it in the schedule and allow it.”
