Sri Lanka cricket board offers to host IPL 2020 amid Coronavirus pandemic

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially announced the extension of the lockdown till 3rd May, a meeting was held regarding the postponement of IPL 2020. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly along with the other board members made a decision.

The Board has decided to suspend IPL 2020 indefinitely. They will again meet after 3rd May when the government will announce the new guidelines regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to various reports, the Sri Lanka cricket board has written to their Indian counterparts wherein they have offered to host the IPL. ESPNcricinfo quoted Shammi Silva, SLC president, as telling to Sinhala daily Lankadeepa: “Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL. So perhaps they can minimise those losses by hosting the tournament in another country.”

“If they play it in Sri Lanka, it’s easy for Indian audiences to watch the games on TV. There’s precedent for this because they’ve played the IPL in South Africa before. We’re waiting for the Indian board to respond to our proposal.”

“If the Indian board does agree to play the tournament here, we’re ready to provide facilities in line with the requirements and recommendations of medical professionals. It would be a substantial source of income for Sri Lankan cricket as well.”

Sri Lanka has a very low rate of Coronavirus as compared to India. So this fact can help Sri Lanka to get the nod to host IPL 2020. On two past occasions, the IPL has been shifted out of India. The 2009 edition of the IPL was played in South Africa due to Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, the UAE hosted the first two weeks of IPL also because of the general assembly polls in India.

A senior Board official told news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity: “The BCCI will not be in a position to say anything when the world is closed.”

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