BCCI considering July window for IPL 2020: Report

With the number of coronavirus cases increasing with each passing day and making the commencement of IPL in April tough, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking for the July window or during the latest winter to conduct the tournament.

IPL, which was slated to commence on March 29, has been deferred till April 15 in the wake of the novel Coronavirus.

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“The board is looking at an alternate window to host matches, possibly in July, or latest during winter,” a BCCI official told CNBC-TV18 on condition of anonymity.

The pandemic COVID-19 has so far claimed more than 220 lives in India and has infected over 7,000 in the country. Meanwhile, the number of deaths across the globe due to the virus is over 97,000 along with the infected ones crossing the 16 lakh mark as per the Worldometer.

The crisis suggests that the 21-day lockdown in India, which is till April 14, is likely to get extended.

“If the lockdown is extended, it would be difficult to have a full-fledged IPL in the current window till the beginning of June,” said another senior BCCI official to CNBC-TV18.

However, some reports which have come earlier say that the BCCI is also looking at the October-November window to host the IPL. But the move can only be possible if the ICC decides to postpone the World T20 that is to be held later in the year.

Meanwhile, the IPL franchises, on their part, have decided that they will have the next meeting only after the government comes up with a fresh advisory on or after April 14.