IPL possible after rains: BCCI CEO Rahul Johri

MUMBAI: In words that would be music to all the fans and stakeholders in Indian cricket, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri on Wednesday said that plans are on to hold IPL-13, which has been postponed indefinitely because of Covid-19, with Indian and international players post monsoon season.

The BCCI is banking heavily on the International Cricket Council (ICC) postponing the T20 World Cup in Australia, scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15.

“More people watched the IPL last year than those who voted for general elections. For sponsors, cricket is a leader and it will lead the way. The recovery will be sharper than a V-shaped recovery,” said Johri at the TCM Sports Huddle webinar.

“It will be a step-by-step process. We can’t expect normalization tomorrow,” he said. Johri did mention though, that the players’ decision to pull out would be respected.

Johri cautioned that it won’t be easy to stage the IPL even in October-November. “When flights resume, everyone has to quarantine themselves before playing. We will have to look at how that will impact the schedules, which as it is are tight. Imagine you have to factor in 14-day quarantine prior to practice also. So, there are a lot of moving parts. But we are still optimistic. Hopefully, the situation will improve after monsoon, and we will approach it then,” he said.