Sri Lanka Proposes to Host IPL 2020

As the tentacles of COVID-19 spread across the globe and over 10,000 people are infected by the virus in India, the government is taking stern measures to flatten the curve as soon as possible.

In India, as the death toll crosses 400, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced extension of the initial 21-day lockdown by another 19 days, i.e. till 3rd May. This means that, like many other businesses and events, the possibility of conducting Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 seems very thin.

The 13th edition of IPL 2020 was scheduled to begin on 29th March 2020 and was postponed to mid-April. With the extension of the lockdown in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has postponed the cash-rich cricket league indefinitely and the cricket board might look for a window later in the year to conduct the tournament.

Amidst the Indian lockdown, Sri Lanka Cricket has informed BCCI that they are ready to host IPL 2020. Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva told Lankadeepa Newspaper that if the effect of COVID-19 subsides in Sri Lanka, then India is likely to consider Sri Lanka’s proposal.

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

He also added, “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.”