IPL 2020 Likely To be Truncated: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly | Sportsmonks
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IPL 2020 Likely To be Truncated: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

Amid coronavirus fears, the IPL 2020 which was scheduled to start from March 29, has been further postponed to April 15. The BCCI stated it as a preventive measure against coronavirus. In a further development, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has said that the tournament is likely to be truncated after a delayed start. However, he refused to give a final verdict on the same after the BCCI general meeting on Saturday.

The BCCI officials met top executives of all eight franchises at its headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday, including Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani, Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia, among others after the delayed start of the tournament was finalised.the health concerns of the fans and the cricketers are of prime importance to the BCCI and that is why the cricketing body has decided to play the waiting game. Meanwhile, the BCCI also said that they will “assess and monitor” the situation in the country on a weekly basis. Whether the IPL will be truncated in terms of days or matches remains to be seen.

Also Read: IPL 2020 Postponed to April 15 Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Concerns

“If it is [postponed till] April 15, then it in any case 15 days are gone, so it has to be truncated one. How truncated, how many games I can’t say at the moment” Ganguly said.

Respective franchise owners Ness Wadia & Shahrukh Khan also voiced their concern on the current situation and urged on the importance of public health.

Image result for Ness Wadia BCCI meeting
Photo Source: ( https://twitter.com/BCCI)

“The meeting was to discuss the possible scenarios. Number one, most importantly, everyone in India and the world must understand, the BCCI, nor the IPL nor Star is here to gain monetary benefit by having the IPL,” Wadia told reporters after the meeting.

“Whatever you do, the common man should not get a feeling that we are pushing for the IPL. It is their sentiment that needs to be considered, too, before any call is taken” said a KKR franchise official on behalf of Shahrukh Khan.

Also Read: Watch: MS Dhoni Scores Century in Practice Match

Backup Options Discussed

The BCCI also discussed a few backup options after the postponement of the tournament. One of the options discussed was taking the tournament beyond May 24, the date of the final of IPL 2020. Keeping in mind the onset of monsoon in India, the latest cut off date for the final was decided as of June 5.

The second option decided by the board for staging the IPL 2020 was hosting more double-headers. The third option discussed was that incase the tournament starts from April 15, it would be held at limited venues to cut down on the overall travel.

The BCCI also discussed on the availability of foreign players in IPL 2020 and said that in case they do not participate, the season will be called off.

Parth Jindal, co-owner of Delhi Capitals, said the BCCI will “probably” call for another meeting after assessing the situation for a week.

“We are committed to IPL, we would like IPL to happen but we have to wait and watch based on the virus and how it progresses.,” Jindal said.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has spread over 100 countries globally resulting in the death of over 5000 lives, luckily only two in India so far. The virus has also forced a sudden change and rescheduling of all domestic and international cricket tournaments.

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