BCCI president Sourav Ganguly feels India national camp unlikely before August 

The Indian cricket team is unlikely to come together before August for an official national camp, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly.

As reported by ABP News, the former Indian skipper and current BCCI president doesn't feel the need for a national camp before the month of August owing to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

BCCI keen to host the IPL in 2020

BCCI

The BCCI is trying hard to host the Indian Premier League (IPL) at some point later this year. While the Indian board is eyeing the September-November window for its glamour T20 tournament, a lot also depends on the International Cricket Council's (ICC) final call on the 2020 World T20, which is scheduled to be held in Australia from October 18.

Moreover, Pakistan are also looking to host the Asia Cup in either Sri Lanka or UAE from September-October, as well as the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in November. To avoid any clash with both competitions, the BCCI has written to the PCB asking them to postpone their PSL matches to next year.

“Asia Cup will be a struggle this year. Going by the statement of the Chief Executive of the PCB, the window that suits them doesn’t suit India. Maybe they can postpone PSL to next year if BCCI is able to open up a window during that period," a BCCI official was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

“Otherwise conducting the Asia Cup doesn’t seem too practical as these are challenging times.”

In the last few weeks, several Indian cricketers have taken to social media to post photographs from the ground after staying at home for more than three months during the COVID-19 lockdown. India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma took to social media where he expressed satisfaction on being able to 'get back on the park' after a long time.

In another headache for the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who took charge in September 2019, it was reported that a lot of domestic cricketers are yet to receive their match fees for the 2019-20 season.

According to a Times of India report, players from Mumbai, Bengal, Tripura and Maharashtra are among some of the teams yet to receive their match fees. While one player confirmed the same in a statement, another player said that he is yet to receive his match fees for the last three seasons.

The reported non-payment of fees by the BCCI is a matter of concern for the cricketers, who are currently confined at their homes due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from the VIVO IPL deal, the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI is now also in a contract dispute with American sportswear manufacturer Nike. The BCCI-Nike deal is one of the oldest sponsorship associations of the Indian board that dates back to 2006.

Due to the losses Nike have incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown of sporting activities, they are reportedly asking for discounts as well as a contract extension beyond September. The BCCI is not very keen to go ahead with Nike's demands. though.