What About IPL 2020?

The Indian Premium League (IPL) has been famous since the year 2008 when the first edition was played. The tournament in India is organized by the IPL Governing Council. The council is under the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). As a sports league, this cricket tournament is regarded as a Twenty20 over match. The league includes over eight teams that play against one another in this series.

These series have been taking place for the last 12 years. The teams include; Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Mumbai Indians. Among the overall 12 leagues; Mumbai Indians have won four titles. This was the most number of matches that any team had won in the overall 12 leagues. 

The IPL series, also known as the Vivo IPL, which was supposed to start on the 29th of March 2020 was suspended. The teams include both the national and international players from various other countries such as Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. This was due to the COVID-19 issue. The COVID-19 lockdown since the 15th of April, 2020 had an impact on the IPL series. 

Rahul Johri, CEO of the BCCI had announced that the series may start once the COVID-19 situation subsides and there is a positive response from the government side. The IPL series was postponed to 15th April 2020. However, due to the pandemic lockdown, the series was also postponed and the date for the commencement is yet to be decided by the BCCI. 

The postponement of the IPL also will have an impact on the ICC T20 series. The ICC T20 series is also expected to be postponed based on the commencement of the IPL series. The BCCI are following the rules and guidelines set by the government. The IPL league has become one of the famous entertainment series for all the viewers. The series had more viewers compared to those who come for elections. 

This had a strong impact not only on the series but also on the players in the matches. The impact of the COVID-19 is also expected to change or add in some new rules into the IPL league. The players are expected to stay in the quarantine for two weeks prior to the practice sessions. This is further expected to have a negative impact on the IPL series in front. However, it is only the “hope” that still remains across the players and the BCCI.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at 139k as of the 25th of May 2020. Also across the world, the cases have crossed 5.4 million among which there were around 345k deaths. This situation had an impact on the IPL and also the Franchise Owners, Broadcasters, and Sponsors. With an impact of the COVID-19, the expected start date for the IPL league is yet to be decided. This is expected to have an impact on various other series in the future; such as the Asian Cup and the T20 series.