Sri Lanka offers to host IPL 2020 as BCCI suspends the league indefinitely

After Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the 13th edition of India Premier League (IPL 2020) indefinitely, Sri Lanka board has offered to host the cash-rich league.
 
IPL 2020 was slated to start from March 29 but with the coronavirus outbreak it was first deferred till April 15 and now with the extension of nation-wide lockdown in India till May 3, it has been indefinitely suspended.
 
Apparently, the Sri Lanka cricket board has written to their Indian counterparts wherein they have offered to host the IPL.
 
"Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL," ESPNcricinfo quoted Shammi Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket president.
 
"So perhaps they can minimise those losses by hosting the tournament in another country. If they play it in Sri Lanka, it's easy for Indian audiences to watch the games on TV. There's precedent for this because they've played the IPL in South Africa before. We're waiting for the Indian board to respond to our proposal," he added.

 

In the past, the IPL has been shifted out of India on two occasions. The 2009 edition of the IPL had been moved to South Africa due to Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, the UAE had hosted the first two weeks of IPL also because of the general assembly polls in India.
 
"If the Indian board does agree to play the tournament here, we're ready to provide facilities in line with the requirements and recommendations of medical professionals. It would be a substantial source of income for Sri Lankan cricket as well," Silva said.
 
Sri Lanka has so far registered fewer number of coronavirus cases as compared to India. Till now, the country has over 230 Covid-19 cases while seven lives have been lost in the island nation.
 
However, the lockdown imposed in Sri Lanka is even more severe than that in most parts of India, with a curfew having been put in place for almost four weeks. The Sri Lanka government remains optimistic about eliminating the virus from the country and if the goal is achieved, then Sri Lanka can become a viable option as an IPL venue. However, even then, the government clearance would be required to host such a big tournament.
 
In India, the condition is worse as more than 13,000 confirmed cases have been reported thus far with more than 400 people losing their lives to coronavirus.

 
BCCI is also looking at the two options of having an IPL this year. They are looking to organise the event in September and early October before the T20 World Cup in Australia or hosting it at the expense of the T20 World Cup if the ICC, Cricket Australia and other stakeholders are all in agreement.
 

Here is the list of major sports tournaments that get cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus pandemic:
  

Major sports events affected by Coronavirus pandemic
Sports event	Status
Tokyo Olympics	Postponed to 2021
Cricket
India vs South Africa ODI series	Cancelled
Australia vs New Zealand (2nd and 3rd ODI)	Cancelled
Pakistan Super League	Suspended
England vs Sri Lanka Test series	Cancelled
Australia vs Bangladesh Test series	Postponed
Archery
World Cup in Shanghai	Cancelled
Badminton
China masters	Postponed
German Open	Cancelled
Asian Championships	Suspended
India Open	Suspended
Swiss Open	Suspended
Malaysian Open	Suspended
Singapore Open	Suspended
Thomas and Uber Cup finals	Postponed from May to Auguts 2020
Tennis
All AITA tournaments	Cancelled
BNP Paribas Open	Cancelled
Miami Open	Cancelled
Monte Carlo Masters	Cancelled
French Open	Postponed to Sept 20-OCt 4
Wimbledon 2020	Cancelled
Athletics
World Indoor Championships Nanjing	Postponed to March 2021
Field Hockey
India's tour of Japan (Jr Women's Asia Cup)	Postponed
FIH Pro League	Suspended till June
Basketball
NBA	Suspended
Shooting
New Delhi World Cup	postponed to May 5-12 and June 2-9
Boxing
World Cup in Germany	Cancelled
Formula one
Australian GP	Cancelled
Bahrain GP	Postponed
Vietnamese GP	Postponed
Chinese GP	Postponed
Monaco GP	Cancelled
Azerbaijan GP	Postponed
Football
Champions League	Suspended till further notice
Europa League	Suspended till further notice
EPL and FA Cup	Postponed till April 30
Euro 2020	Postponed to 2021
Copa America	postponed to 2021
Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup	Postponed