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The IPL, scheduled from March 29 to May 24, has been indefinitely postponed by BCCI in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Board will only hold the tournament when normalcy returns.
SLC President Shammi Silva said on Thursday that Sri Lanka is ready to host the mega event as the country, which has the fewest positive cases, is expected to return to normal earlier compared to India.
“The BCCI will not be in a position to say anything when the world is closed,” a senior Board official told PTI under conditions of anonymity.
The official confirmed that, currently, there is no proposal from the SLC and there are no guarantees that a meaningful discussion on the subject can take place, even if it is presented.
Currently, international flights have been suspended mainly after several countries imposed blockades to contain the deadly virus.
“There is still no SLC proposal and obviously there is no discussion,” the official said when asked what the BCCI’s support will be when the offer is on the table.
The SLC can have the matches in three areas: Galle, Kandy and Premadasa Stadium, with logistics reduced to less than half since there are no flights inland.
Having an IPL could help the SLC gain significant financial stability, more than a short white ball series against India (three T20Is and three ODIs) can guarantee in July.
From now on, the BCCI will be more interested in having it in India in any of the two spaces between September and October and October and November.
A BCCI veteran, who was part of the teams when IPL moved to South Africa in 2009 and partially to the United Arab Emirates (2014) due to the general election, feels that the scenario at ICC will change once Shashank Manohar resigns from the presidency in late May.
“Sri Lanka has been BCCI’s ally at the ICC and his proposal is understandable. But what happens once he (Manohar) resigns next month,” he said.
“You could see new equations forming and there could be multiple options on the table, not just Sri Lanka,” added the board veteran.
