BCCI Treasurer claims IPL 2020 cancellation would make board lose nearly ₹4000 crore

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has prompted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to indefinitely postpone the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season. The IPL 2020 was originally intended to commence on March 29 with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. However, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly recently made his stand clear by saying there are no immediate plans to stage any cricketing activities in the country as of now.

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IPL postponed: BCCI set to face huge losses over IPL 2020 cancellation

While speaking to AFP, BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal stated that the board will take a huge financial hit if the IPL 2020 is cancelled. He said that in case the IPL 2020 does not take place, the BCCI would lose close to ₹4000 crore (USD $530 million) if not more. He admitted his doubts about the staging of the tournament this year and stated that BCCI will come up with an exact revenue loss amount once they are sure about the number of matches they have lost.

IPL postponed: BCCI Treasurer on possible pay cuts and cricket in 2020

Lack of cricket due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown in many countries has forced several cricketing boards to resort to cost-cutting processes. Cricket Boards like Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket Board and the Afghanistan Cricket Board have all announced either pay cuts or have laid down members of their staff. However, Arun Dhumal stated that BCCI is hoping to avoid any pay cuts of their players by saying "that would be the last thing that we would want to do”.

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Apart from the recent IPL postponed news, the Indian team is also scheduled to tour Australia for a bilateral T20I series followed by the T20 World Cup between October and November later this year. The T20 World Cup will be followed by a four-match Test series against the hosts. In regards to the proposed Australia tour, the BCCI official added that the Indian players would be ready to undergo a two-week quarantine period before the Tests. However, he also told that it would be applicable only if the T20 World Cup gets cancelled.

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