Sri Lanka ready to host IPL 2020, will provide all facilities for tournament: SLC to BCCI

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is ready to host the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 after the 13thedition of the cash-rich tournament was suspended indefinitely by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The president of Sri Lanka Cricket – Shammi Silva – while speaking to Lankadeepa Newspaper – said that India is expected to have a look at the proposal by Sri Lanka to host IPL 2020. The SLC president cited the massive financial hit the BCCI will have to take if the IPL 2020 is not played due to the pandemic while adding that the Indian board can look at an alternative option as it did in the year 2009.

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Silva further said that it would be beneficial for the BCCI to hold the tournament in an overseas country as they did in 2009 (South Africa) rather than cancel the entire event. He added that Sri Lanka Cricket is ready to provide all the facilities necessary under the supervision of health authorities for the smooth conduction of IPL 2020.

“If IPL is called off, Indian Cricket board and IPL stakeholders will have to bear a loss of more than $500 Million. So, it will be beneficial for them to conduct the league in another country as they did in 2009 in South Africa,” Silva was quoted as saying.

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“If we get the go-ahead from them to this proposal, we are ready to provide all the facilities necessary under the supervision of Sri Lankan health authorities,” he added.

The SLC president further said that hosting IPL could be a welcome boost for the economy of Sri Lanka and its cricket board.