XtraTime Web Desk: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be pushing for a mini IPL if the forthcoming T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in Australia in October is postponed due to coronavirus pandemic. The Indian board will suffer a huge financial loss up to Rs 40 billion if the cash rich league is not held this year.
There is growing expectation that the T20 World Cup might have to be postponed. If the event does get rescheduled then BCCI will go all out to squeeze in the IPL even if the tournament has to be staged in empty stands. Entirely scrapping of the league this year would mean BCCI will brace for a huge loss up to the extent of Rs 40 billion ($530 million). BCCI will have to pay a huge compensation to the broadcasters Star Sports who have paid more than $220 million for five years of TV rights up to 2022.
According to BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal, “We will only be able to figure out the exact revenue loss once we are sure of how many games we have lost.”
If IPL does happen in October in place of the T20 World Cup then most of the big Aussie stars including Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell will be available (government flight restrictions allowing) to take part in the league.
There is another concern if IPL is held in October-November. It would mean the tournament will clash with the start of Australia’s domestic cricket season – One Day Cup and the Sheffield Shield.
As a rule, CA does not permit its stars to play in T20 leagues abroad during its own domestic summer, but with the forthcoming test series coming up against India at home, Cricket Australia would not like to go for a tussle with BCCI.
International Cricket Council (ICC) have not yet made any official decision about T20 World Cup in Australia but there’s growing speculation a final call could be made on the fate of the tournament in the coming weeks.
Cricket Australia won’t be severely impacted financially by the T20 World Cup not going ahead — certainly not compared to how they would be crippled by India bailing out on a Test summer worth $300m.
In the next few weeks the BCCI as well as ICC will be in a better position to take a final decision about rescheduling the IPL 2020 and T20 World Cup