Coronavirus lockdown: IPL 2020 suspended indefinitely

For the first time in 12 years, an Indian summer will be left poorer without the Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL 2020 edition has been suspended until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament, which was supposed to be held in between March 29 and May 4, was pushed to April 15 last month. But with the nationwide lockdown extended till May 3 and with no clarity on the situation post the date, Hemang Amin, IPL’s COO, informed about the development to the eight franchises on Wednesday morning.

BCCI’s top brass – President Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel, treasurer Arun Dhumal and Amit – discussed over a conference call on Tuesday. 

The decision was more of a formal announcement as the buzz had already begun on Tuesday. A veteran franchise official had told PTI, “Yes, the BCCI has intimated us that IPL has been postponed for the time being, but they are hopeful of finding a window later this year as and when things normalise.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown extension on Tuesday. All domestic and international travel in and out of India remains blocked. Naturally, IPL became out of the question.

BCCI had remained optimistic about the hosting the cash-rich league, even if compressed or held behind closed doors in limited centres. However, they will now have to look for another jam-packed international calendar that includes the T20 World Cup and important World Test Championship tours.

PLAYERS HIT
Little could one foresee this during the December auction where Australian pacer Pat Cummins returned to his old franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a record overseas-deal of INR 15.5 crore. No IPL means a huge loss for BCCI, franchises and also players, who won’t receive any money until the tournament takes place. Even the franchises rely on the tournament’s commercial revenue, which includes the massive broadcast rights brought by Star India.

Earlier, even the Tokyo Olympics and the Euro 2020 had to be pushed a year. IPL joins the list of other high-profile sporting events to be pushed to the backburner as the world combats the coronavirus crisis that has infected over two million people and caused almost 1.27 lakh deaths. Like most countries, India struggles with the pandemic with over 11,500 cases (out of which 85 per cent remain active) and close to 400 deaths.

IPL FACTS

• First edition: 2008
• First champions: Rajasthan Royals (2008)
• Most championships: Mumbai Indians (4)
• Most finals: Chennai Super Kings (8)
• Most Runs: Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 5,412 runs
• Highest Score: Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – 175* (2013)
• Highest Strike-Rate: Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) – 186.4
• Most Wickets: Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians) – 170 wickets
• Best Bowling: Alzarri Joseph (Mumbai Indians) – 3.4-0-12-6
• Best Economy Rate: Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – 6.55