Novak Djokovic's COVID-19 fiasco made board worry about Dream11 IPL 2020: BCCI treasurer

The Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season came to a conclusion on November 10, with Mumbai successfully defending their 2019 title. The tournament, spanning 60 matches across 52 action-packed days, witnessed record viewership, according to Star Sports' head Sanjog Gupta. While the Dream11 IPL 2020 season turned out to be a roaring success, fans earlier had to wait for months for the same due to continuous delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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BCCI Treasurer reveals earlier reluctance behind hosting Dream11 IPL 2020 season

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal recently interacted with The Indian Express. During the interview, he claimed that the BCCI were not entirely on board for conducting the Dream11 IPL 2020 season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to him, the Indian board began expressing concerns after Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic tested positive for coronavirus during his Adria tennis tour back in June.

Arun Dhumal said that after Novak Djokovic’s positive report, the BCCI were left in two minds with many people advising them to not go ahead with Dream11 IPL 2020 season. They feared for the safety of players as the tournament would run for around 52 days. However, Arun Dhumal added that BCCI secretary Jay Shah said to go ahead with the T20 event as he was “more confident” about its success than the rest of the officials combined.

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The BCCI treasurer added that while the Dream11 IPL 2020 season was played behind closed doors, it generated a record television viewership. He claimed that the TV viewership went up about 25 percent higher from last year and the season also had the “highest-ever opening game” (Mumbai vs Chennai match on September 19). Dhumal later stated that everyone who doubted BCCI for hosting Dream11 IPL 2020 later came to thank them for the successful hosting of the tournament.

IPL 2020 winners: Mumbai IPL titles cabinet gets further enhanced with fifth trophy

Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, Mumbai defeated Delhi by five wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on November 10 in the Dream11 IPL 2020 final. The win extended Mumbai IPL titles tally to five trophies, thus becoming the first team to do so. Interestingly, all of Mumbai’s five IPL titles have come under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.

IPL 2020 winners: Mumbai players celebrate fifth title

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Image source: ATP Tour and IPL Twitter