The Indian Premier League was called off in a hurry earlier this week, when reports of at least one member of the four franchises of the tournament testing positive with the coronavirus started making rounds. 

This happened despite the strict bio-bubble protocol which was installed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to ensure the safety of the players and the smooth sailing of the season.

OFFICIAL UPDATE pic.twitter.com/6bW8YUYhON

With the number of positive COVID-19 cases flirting with the 4 lakh margin on a daily basis and no signs of falling anytime soon, the future of the ongoing edition of the Indian T20 league has found to be in a bit of uncertainty. 

Emphasising the need for this season to finish in its entirety, BCCI President and former Team India Captain, Sourav Ganguly has revealed the kind of losses the organisers will incur if the tournament gets called off completely.

"There has got to be a lot of shuffling. Only a day has passed since we suspended the IPL. We have to speak to other boards and see if a window can be made available before the T20 World Cup," Ganguly told The Telegraph. 

"Lot of things are involved and we will slowly start working on them. If we fail to complete the IPL, the loss will be close to INR 2500 crore (USD 340 million approx). That is going by early estimates," he added. 

The Indian cricket board stepped up while ensuring the safety of everyone who were involved in making this season a possibility, especially the overseas players who were struggling to go back home due to travel bans imposed on them by their governments to avoid bringing in the “Indian strain” of the virus to their respective countries. 

Chartered planes were organised for players belonging to nations such as New Zealand, South Africa and the Caribbean while the Australians were sent to the Maldives, where they can undergo quarantine before catching a flight back home. 

According to Cricbuzz, Mumbai Indians are sending their overseas players via Chartered plane and they also offered other franchise players to join them.

Having said that, discussions of continuing the remainder of the season in the United Arab Emirates have already begun while the England and Wales Cricket Board have also volunteered themselves as the hosts if the BCCI would wish to bring the IPL to the United Kingdom.

View the full article