Organising IPL 2020 won’t be easy: Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) might be delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic but appears to be on track to be held around September-October this year. The IPL franchises, including Ness Wadia’s Kings XI Punjab, are fully backing the idea of holding IPL 2020, even if it means the T20 tournament may be a truncated one.

Cricket Australia (CA) had made it clear on Tuesday (June 16) that it will be ‘unrealistic’ to hold the T20 World Cup in Australia this year. That opens up a two-month window for the Board of Controll for Cricket in India (BCCI) in which to organise the IPL.

Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia isn’t too concerned about the venue as long as it has adequate infrastructure.

Organising IPL 2020 this year won't be easy: Kings XI co-owner Ness Wadia

Kings XI Punjab

In this regard, Kings XI co-owner Ness Wadia said that during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, organising a tournament like the IPL won't be 'easy':

“Considering the current situation, there are too many complications in hosting the T20 World Cup with 16 teams. Organising the IPL won’t be easy too. It has to be at a place which has adequate infrastructure, both on and off the field,” Ness Wadia told PTI news agency.

Industrialist Ness Wadia stressed on the importance of being flexible, including the eventuality of organising the IPL outside India.

“IPL has also been a very forward looking and flexible tournament, and that has to be maintained during the COVID situation. Going back to 2009, within one month we switched from India to South Africa,” Ness Wadia said.

UAE have offered to host the IPL, as well as Sri Lanka. It’s a decision, according to Ness Wadia, that will be taken after mutual consent of all the IPL team owners.

“We would need adequate number of hotels in that place, so that we are able to quarantine players if needed. Whether in India or abroad, there has to be enough infrastructure,” Ness Wadia said.

A unnamed top official of an IPL team wants BCCI to announce the dates of the IPL as soon as possible.

“I don’t understand what the BCCI is waiting for. They should have announced the dates by now. Whether August-September or September-October (if the World Cup doesn’t happen). Talk to the UAE board and go ahead. They can even consider Bahrain and Muscat and expand the league’s presence further, ICC delaying the decision has left it in a dilemma and also the BCCI,” the official was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Ness Wadia also believes there will be a significant rise in IPL’s TV viewership, and garnering sponsors will not be a problem.

“If it is a shorter tournament then automatically it would depend on the number of games. If there are the usual 14 league games, you are getting an X value from a sponsor, it will change if there are lesser number of games,” Ness Wadia said.

“Having said that, a lot of sponsors might be happy to see the IPL happening even if it is shorter. It gives them a lot of publicity. In my humble opinion, the IPL might happen with a larger audience base purely based on the assessment that the world has been through so much and the world needs that outlet,” he added.