The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) CEO Rahul Johri spoke about the IPL and other questions during the TCM Sports Huddle Webinar.
Will the IPL 2020 happen?
“We will be guided by the government guidelines. Our advisory says: IPL is suspended till further notice. We are engaging with various agencies. After the current phase of lockdown ends, there is the monsoon. Cricketing activities can start only after the monsoon. By then, hopefully things will improve and decisions can be taken during these times.”
Will the IPL 2020 take place without international players?
“The flavour of IPL is that best players of the world come and play, and everyone is committed to maintaining that flow. But it will be a step-by-step process. We can’t expect normalisation tomorrow. We will try our utmost to maintain the flavour of IPL being top Indian players along with the top international cricketers. When flights resume, everyone has to quarantine themselves before playing. We will have to look at how that will impact the schedules, which as it is are tight. Imagine you have to factor in 14-day quarantine prior to practice also. So, there are a lot of moving parts. But we are still optimistic. Hopefully, the situation will improve after monsoon, and we will approach it then,”
Will the current situation impact Commercials of IPL & Indian Cricket ?
“IPL is one of the greatest engagers. More people watched the IPL last year than those who voted for general elections. For sponsors, cricket is a leader and it will lead the way. The recovery will be sharper than a V-shaped recovery. Take my word, cricket and commercials will come back with a bang.”
Will all Cricket be without crowds, gate revenues surely will be impacted?
“Matches without crowds as per the current situations will not just be in IPL but also international cricket. Although gate receipts gives us a small percentage of our revenue, it is important because the bulk of that goes in maintenance of stadiums. However, in the short term, before we get back to normal, we can live without gate receipts.”
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
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