Sri Lanka offers BCCI to host IPL 2020 amid coronavirus crisis
Days after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) indefinitely due to coronavirus pandemic, Sri Lanka has offered to host the rich-cash league tournament. IPL 2020 was slated to start from March 29, however, due to coronavirus pandemic, it was deferred till April 15. Now, the extension of lockdown across the country till May 3, forced the board to indefinitely suspend the tournament.
The Sri Lanka cricket board wrote to their Indian counterparts wherein they have offered to host the 13teh edition of IPL. "Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL," ESPNcricinfo quoted Shammi Silva, SLC president, as telling to Sinhala daily Lankadeepa.
"Therefore, 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," he added.
IPL 2009 had been moved to South Africa due to the Lok Sabha elections. Likewise, in 2014 UAE hosted the first two weeks of IPL also because of the elections in India. Silva added that "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."
Also Read | Coronavirus: IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely, BCCI tells franchises
So far, Sri Lanka has reported over 230 coronavirus cases with seven fatalities. In comparison, India's condition is worse as more than 13,000 confirmed cases have been reported so far with more than 400 deaths due to coronavirus.
-PTC News
