The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest sporting events of the world and cricket lovers are quite disappointed now as the thirteenth season of the league has been postponed till April 15. IPL 2020 was supposed to start on March 29 but as the number of coronavirus patients started increasing, the decision of postponing IPL was taken.
However if we take a look at the present condition, the chances of IPL taking place this year are pretty low but there is news that BCCI may organize the tournament in the second half of the year on the expense of any bilateral series or international tournament. Things will get clear once BCCI will make a statement in this regard.
Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh who is a member of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has opened up on this matter and he seems to ready to play IPL in the empty stadiums. Bhajji was speaking on a TV show of a sports channel and he said that there is no doubt spectators are necessary but he is also ready to play without them. The Indian spinner further said that he will certainly miss the environment but at least cricket fans will be able to watch IPL on their televisions.
He was also very much concerned with the safety of players as he said that the safety of players should be priority and it should be ensured that the hotels, flights, venues, etc. are properly sanitized. Nevertheless at one fell swoop, he also added that IPL should be organized only if things are completely okay as many lives will be on stake. Harbhajan said that he is missing matches, visit to stadiums, fans and so on, adding that he wanted to play all the 17 matches including the final.
The opening match of IPL 2020 was supposed to be played between MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings and Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians (MI). Last IPL was won by MI after they defeated CSK in the finals. MS Dhoni, the former Indian skipper, was also supposed to make a comeback on the cricket field with IPL 2020 as he has not played since the World Cup 2019.
Let’s just wait for BCCI to make an official announcement regarding IPL, till then please stay at home and practice social distancing to stay safe.
