Sri Lanka Cricket president Shammi Silva said that he has written to the BCCI offering to host IPL 2020 after its indefinite postponement due to the spread of COVID-19.
Sri Lanka has offered to host the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which has been indefinitely postponed by the BCCI due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 13th IPL edition was planned to begin on March 29 but with the COVID-19 outbreak it was first suspended until April 15 and now it has been indefinitely suspended due to the extension of India’s nationwide lockdown until May 3.
The Sri Lanka cricket president has written to BCCI offering to host the IPL 2020 since he believes that the country will be clear of COVID-19 before India.
He said that if Sri Lanka can host the event, it is easy for Indian fans to watch the games on TV. There is precedent for this as they have played the IPL in South Africa before. He added that the Sri Lanka cricket board is waiting for the Indian board to respond to their proposal.
In the past, the IPL has been shifted out of India on two occasions. The 2009 edition had been moved to South Africa because of Lok Sabha elections and in 2014, the UAE hosted the first two weeks of the event due to the general assembly polls.
Silva said if the Indian cricket board agrees to play the tournament in Sri Lanka, they are ready to provide facilities that can fulfill the requirements and recommendations of medical experts and it will be a substantial source of income for the country’s cricket as well.
Sri Lanka has so far registered 230 COVID-19 cases compared to India’s number of more than 13,000 cases.
However, Sri Lanka has imposed even more severe lockdown than most parts of India. The Sri Lanka government remains optimistic about fighting with the virus and if the goal can be achieved, Sri Lanka can become a viable option as an IPL 2020 venue.
