IPL 2020: The growing threat of Coronavirus has forced the BCCI to change the plans for IPL 2020 at the last minute as the new rules from the Indian ministry will not allow the board to invite the fans to the stadiums. The Government has clarified that if the organizers cannot postpone the tournament then they should play the matches behind closed doors.
This development will have a major impact on the revenue generation of BCCI because ticket sales is a big part of their income. Besides, even the franchises may lose out on the gate money while the state associations will not make huge profits. The viewers may not enjoy viewing the matches on TV as there will be no crowd cheering or hooting in the stadiums.
So, in this situation, it is possible that the BCCI considers moving the tournament out of India. There are countries where COVID-19 is not present at all hence, those countries could get a chance to host IPL 2020. Here are the top 3 candidates.
Barbados
While the entire United States of America is worried about COVID-19, the island of Barbados has managed to stay free from the virus. Since many matches of CPL are played at the two stadiums of Barbados, IPL officials could consider moving the tournament to Barbados this year. Besides, two-three IPL teams hold stakes in the franchises of the Caribbean Premier League. Thus, it will help in the marketing process also.
Sri Lanka
The neighboring nation of India is the frontrunner in this race because unlike Barbados, there will not be a completely different time zone in Sri Lanka. The time difference is pretty less which would allow the Governing Council to host matches as per the proper time. Inviting fans won’t be an issue as Sri Lanka is currently hosting England for a Test series.
Zimbabwe
The final candidate on this list is Zimbabwe. The reason why the officials could pick the African nation ahead of Sri Lanka and Barbados is that the neighboring countries of the latter two have registered positive cases. Zimbabwe has zero cases while in its neighboring nations also, there is no case of COVID-19. Thus, these are the three venues that can host IPL 2020 outside India.
