Everyone wants IPL to happen but premature to comment on October-November window for IPL 2020: BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal

With the COVID-19 pandemic shattering the entire sporting calendar, all eyes are on the future of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 which was earlier scheduled to start from March 29 before getting postponed till April 15. While almost the entire world is currently under lockdown to curb the spread of the dreaded COVID-19, there are major question marks on whether IPL 2020 will be played this year.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer Arun Dhumal has said that the board is not in a position to take a final take on the fate of IPL 2020 and it would be “too premature” to comment on whether the cash-rich tournament could be played in place of ICC T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be played in October-November in Australia.

"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 told PTI.

"Everyone wants IPL to happen but let's have some clarity first."

The BCCI treasurer confirmed that there was no conference call on Monday between the office bearers on Monday.

"We 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 current situation persists," Dhumal said.

He also provided some practical insight into rescheduling of IPL as speculations are rife about the October-November window.

There are major speculations that IPL 2020 could be played in place of ICC T20 World Cup. But that would need the postponement of the showpiece event.

"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.

"Secondly, even if the lockdown ends in India, what if some of the major cities still have those COVID ''hotspots''? Can we risk the lives of our sportspersons? Thirdly, the players are likely to go without training for months.

"Even if we are in a position to conduct a tournament, for international players, we need to give them a bare minimum time to do full-fledged training before we can start a tournament. All these factors can only be clear when we are in a position to discuss," Dhumal said.