Uncertainty is nothing new for the Indian Premier League. With a little over two weeks left for IPL to start, the threat posed by the pandemic, coronavirus, has hit IPL hard. Anxious franchises, players, as well as the BCCI itself, are awaiting a final decision on its fate this season. Cancellation of the tournament being the least preferred route, BCCI and its partners have come up with back-up plans to ensure the IPL takes place this year.
The IPL Governing Council is meeting on March 14 to mainly decide whether the tournament will take place or not. It has invited all the stakeholders, including the franchise owners, to the meeting.
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According to information available with THE WEEK, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is "pushing" for the tournament to happen on schedule with or without spectators. However, senior officials say that it will all boil down to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's “informal advice” to the board.
Meanwhile, the Sports Ministry has issued an advisory to all National Sports Federations with a specific mention to BCCI president and secretary, dated March 12, 2020, saying, "You are advised to adhere to the advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and ensure that no public gatherings take place in any sporting event. In the event the sporting event cannot be avoided, the same could be done without allowing gathering of people, including spectators.” Quoting this letter, Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju further clarified in a tweet that, "there is no restriction on playing but guidelines to be followed strictly in the larger interest of health”.
The franchises, reportedly, prefer playing in front of empty stands to cancellation or postponement of the tournament. "Where is the window if the tournament is rescheduled to post-April 15 when visa restrictions will be over,"asked one top official of a franchise. "The window for IPL will be gone, and player availability will be an issue."
None of the franchises are, however, acknowledging openly the elephant in the room—what if, despite all the precautions, one player or official is tested positive for COVID-19? Won't that team, or all teams face the possibility of being quarantined? "What happens to the tournament then?"asked a worried team official.
Another franchise, too, called a possible postponement, "definitely a bad idea". Speaking to THE WEEK, the franchise's official spokesperson, requesting anonymity, said, "You know what the cricket schedule is like through the year. Player availability is difficult. Of course, having no fans will be a big loss for IPL and the teams."
Reportedly, BCCI and franchises are looking at the option of a curtailed IPL -in 2-3 venues only to restrict travel and movement of players and officials and crew and all other logistics teams. Another option that the tournament organisers are mulling is to have a shortened version of IPL with teams divided into two groups of four each.
While awaiting a final word on IPL's fate, franchises are also dealing with another big question. How will their team sponsors react? "While the brands will be visible on team jerseys, there are a lot of offline activities that are part of the deal with sponsors. We won't be able to undertake that, like meeting with superfans, dealers and team members. We have so many touch points related to sponsor activities," he said.
How will the broadcaster react, is another big question facing the BCCI. The board and other stakeholders believe that as long as the matches take place, “the broadcaster will be happy”.
“In fact, the advertisement values will go up with the IPL action only available on screen or online," said a cricket marketing expert.
