The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not in a position to take a call on the future of this year’s IPL and it is too premature to say that the tournament would be held in October and November replacing theT20 world cup, scheduled between October 18th and November 15th in Australia said BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal on Monday.
Right Now The Picture Is Unclear: Dhumal
The mega cricket event got postponed to April 15th from March 29th due to corona fears. With the 21day lockdown in India, which was supposed to end on April 15th, likely to be extended for few more days there is little chance for it to go ahead even from the revised date.
“Right now, the picture is very hazy. We don’t even know when the lockdown will end and if we don’t know, how can we even have a meaningful discussion. Once we get clarity from the government, we can then sit and take fresh stock of the situation. Any speculation about its future will be premature,” Dhumal said during an exclusive interaction.
He also clarified there was no teleconference scheduled on Monday to discuss the future of the IPL.
“Everyone wants IPL to happen but let’s have some clarity first. Our office-bearers are in constant touch. It’s not just IPL but there is a huge amount of pending administrative work, legal issues that need to be studied. But there was no conference call scheduled today as there is nothing to discuss till the current situation persists,” Dhumal said.
“We Can’t Conclude That Australian Players Can Travel From Next Month Right Away”
He also believes that the tournament might not begin in the immediate future as there might be travel restrictions on players in foreign countries like Australia.
“Tell me one thing. Firstly, if Australia is under lockdown for six months, how can we conclude that they will allow their players to travel from next month right away? What if the travel restrictions for its citizens are still in place. How will they come to India then? And don’t forget that other boards also need to agree,” Dhumal said.
