BCCI President Sourav Ganguly expects IPL’s television audience to reach all-time highs in 2020, and has indicated that viewers will be able to return to the stadiums later in the tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
“The crowds will see it on TV … They [broadcasters] actually expect the highest IPL rating this season, because they believe that if [fans] they don’t show up on the ground, they’re actually watching on their televisions, “PTI quoted Ganguly as saying. His comments came while he was delivering an online lecture for the Symbiosis Golden Jubilee conference series.
The IPL will kick off on September 19 and run through November 10, with three venues in the mix: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. However, with a recent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the UAE, the tightening of entry rules to Abu Dhabi, and the series of positive cases at the Chennai Super Kings camp, the IPL authorities They are faced with a challenge to finalize the logistics, including the tournament schedule.
However, Ganguly was confident of attracting spectators to the grounds as the tournament progresses. When asked about how playing in front of empty stands could affect players, he said: “Due to Covid and the infection, you don’t want people to be too close, but very soon you will see that there will be 30% people on the ground. with social distancing.
“They [will be] properly tested and allowed to enter the ground. But I think that is going to happen in a period of time. “
“I’m not going to deny the fact that it’s going to be difficult at first. It’s going to be weird. Just the echo of the ball hitting the bat, I haven’t experienced that since I played Ranji Trophy cricket in 2010.”
RCB Captain Virat Kohli
Questions about how the lack of crowds might affect players for the duration of the tournament have been asked for a while now. Mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton feels that players who thrive on external motivation and high pressure can struggle in this tournament in the face of empty stadiums. Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli agreed that it would not be easy to get used to, but said players would adapt because at some point in their lives, in domestic cricket for example, they would have played in empty galleries just for the “love of the game”.
“I’m not going to deny the fact that it will be difficult initially. It’s going to be strange,” Kohli told Royal Challengers. Journals in bold. “Just the echo of the ball hitting the bat. I haven’t experienced that since I played Ranji Trophy cricket in 2010. So for 10 years I haven’t had a game where I didn’t listen to the crowd.
“But look, again, I’m getting back to the point where we’ve done this at some point in our lives. It’s important to remember that instead of saying ‘oh, for 10 years I’m used to this now and I won’ Don’t do it if not there is a crowd. ‘
“Those games [with no crowds], you were playing for the love of the game. The crowd factor will definitely play a role, but once you get in the game, we all love the game so much that we’re natural on the field, doing what we do best. So I think instincts will kick in and the crowd factor will go down pretty quickly once we get into action. “
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