After BCCI have suspended IPL 2020 till further notice, Sri Lankan cricket have come up with a proposal to host the tournament. SLC, however, has not yet officially spoken to its Indian counterpart and has been waiting for the opportune time to make a move.
“No, not yet,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva said on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka have recorded just over 300 confirmed cases of Covid-19 till now out of which 98 have recovered while 7 have passed away. This is substantially less than India which has 18,601 cases, with 2,400 recovered. At the same time, 590 people have succumbed to the pandemic in the country, with the curve on the rise at the moment.
“It was just a thought amongst the SLC committee members,” he added.The 13th edition of the league was originally scheduled from March 29 to May 24, but was postponed until April 15 due to the pandemic. With the Indian government extending lockdown till at least May 3, the tournament was then postponed indefinitely.
“Sri Lanka as a country has taken some good measures to contain the virus from spreading. Therefore God willing, we will know where we stand during the next couple of weeks. If the situation is brought under control, we will have to get the blessings of the government and of course the health authorities before we make a formal offer (to BCCI),” he added.
Earlier, SLC president Shammi Silva had stated that the country will be clear of the pandemic before India.
“If the Indian board does agree to play the tournament here, we are 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,” the SLC president was quoted as saying.
However, speaking on the immediate future, De Silva preferred to be cautious. “It’s a little premature to predict anything given the situation across the globe.”The lucrative league has been held overseas twice in the past due to general elections in the country. The second edition in 2009 was held in South Africa, while the first half of the 2014 IPL was played in the UAE.
Cricket is undoubtedly a popular sport in Sri Lanka, and there are sufficient venues to host matches. The country has eight grounds that have been used to host international matches, and seven of them have hosted Test matches.
Another thing in favour of Sri Lanka hosting the IPL is the favourable time zone for the Indian audience as the two counties fall in the same longitude. In fact, there is no time difference between the two national capitals, Delhi and Colombo.
