India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to conduct a meeting with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Friday via video conference, in which the two individuals will decide the course of action for Indian cricket amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report in India Today suggests. The PM’s meeting is a first considering ever since the outbreak, he’s not held a meeting with a head of sports body in the country
The meeting is expected mostly revolve towards the future of IPL 2020. The 13th edition of the league, which was supposed to start on March 29, was postponed till April 15 and although there have been reports that the IPL may be called off this year, with many franchises and players expressing their concerns over participating, an official word is awaited.
The 21-day lockdown imposed by PM Modi ends on April 14 and there is belief within the board that even if the coast is cleared to start the IPL by the first week of May, a truncated edition can be expected.
Captain of the Indian cricket team Virat Kohli and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar are also expected to be part of this video-conferencing, giving their valuable inputs. Barring the IPL, the future of India’s cricket assignments may also be up for a discussion. The three-ODI series against South Africa was called off with the first match ending in washout and there are doubts over the Asia Cup 2020, of which India are defending champions.
The world-wide outbreak of the COVID-19 has not only put a halt on all global sporting events, the issue may seem to have an affect in the long-run. Several reports have emerged that the ICC T20 World Cup, in October-November later this year, could also be rescheduled on the request of a few stakeholders.
With the Australia government opting to seal its border for the next six months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision could adversely affect India’s Futures Tours Programme (FTP), including the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. As per the ICC FTP, India’s tour of Australia 2020 is slated to begin with a T20 tri-series in October and end with the four-match Test series in December-January.
In between that, Australia also have to host the much-awaited ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled for an October 18 start. However, the mega-event’s future is also shrouded in uncertainty due to the global health crisis.