Sunil Gavaskar defends IPL 2020, says foreign countries are jealous of 'world class' event

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season is set to commence on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The much-awaited event landed itself a schedule and a venue only after the impending T20 World Cup was shifted to a later date. The prospect of IPL 2020 replacing a showpiece event like T20 World Cup was not taken lightly by several experts and former cricketers, including ex-Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar who recently launched his own rant against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Sunil Gavaskar defends IPL 2020 against “J virus”

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar recently claimed that IPL is a “world class product” and foreign countries are simply jealous of it. While writing in his mid-day column, the cricketer-turned-commentator described the jealousy factor as the ‘J virus’ and described the same as a seasonal virus that starts before IPL every year and ends a couple of weeks later after its conclusion. Sunil Gavaskar added that the virus affects some foreign countries, “especially England”.

Even though Sunil Gavaskar mocked England in his article, his approach was much more scathing towards Pakistan. The legendary batsman wrote that unlike England, “our western neighbours” suffer from the ‘J virus’ about India “24 hours a day”. On the back of some recent hostility that IPL 2020 has been receiving from Pakistani media and some of their ex-cricketers, Sunil Gavaskar claimed that they have been suffering from the ‘J virus’ for the last 70 years.

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IPL sponsors: BCCI’s IPL and VIVO dilemma

The IPL 2020 season is currently without a title sponsor. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently decided to discontinue the IPL VIVO deal, after the richest cricketing board in the world was subjected to severe backlash for its association with a Chinese smartphone company. As BCCI continues its search for new IPL sponsors after the IPL and VIVO deal fallout, Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali is currently considering to put in a bid. If Baba Ramdev's Patanjali decides to join the race, it will join the likes of Amazon, Unacademy, MyCircle11, Jio among several other brands, who have already entered the fray of becoming new IPL sponsors.

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Image credits: IPLT20.COM and ICC Twitter