IPL 2020 has become a hot topic in the cricket world because the COVID-19 threat has forced the organizers to delay this year’s T20 league. BCCI has deferred the tourney until 15th April however, it is unclear whether we will get a complete season of IPL or will there be a truncation or will the tournament get canceled. In all three situations, losses are bound to happen albeit by different extents.
Talking about the possibility number 1 first where IPL starts somewhere around 20 April with all the foreign players and big names taking part and even the crowds entering the stadiums as nothing has happened, the losses will be minimal as only the broadcasters will have to adjust their time window.
Since Star Sports has offered a major chunk of money just to get the hosting rights, the company should not mind dealing with its sponsors if IPL gets delayed and a full season is played.
The second possibility here is that IPL 2020 is shortened by a few days and the tournament ends as per the original schedule. This means that one team would play against all other teams only once and IPL 2020 would be a one-month affair. Now, this can half the revenue of all the parties involved.
The franchises may offer a half salary to its players while the groundsmen will also get lesser incentives as there will be four home matches for every team. Besides, the title sponsor Vivo will also ask for a reduction in the sponsorship amount it gives.
The contract has it that Vivo IPL will be a 45-day tournament spanning from March end to mid-May. So, if it starts from April 20 and ends on May 21 then the Chinese smartphone company would be concerned about its deal.
Similarly, all the sponsors of the tournament like CEAT and Dream11 would want to negotiate a new pro-rata deal where the payments would be made as per the number of matches played. Star Sports will have to adjust here as well.
Talking about the final scene where IPL 2020 is completely canceled without a single ball being bowled, all the parties will make massive losses. As per media reports, Star Sports has sold 90 percent of the available advertising slots already so this means if the tournament does not get underway, the broadcasters will lose their advertising income.
Second, all the sponsors will be worried about their investments as every company has a multi-year contract with the IPL organizing committee. Next, the franchises will lose out on the sponsorship money of IPL 2020 as even they would have already roped in their jersey sponsors.
Speaking of the state associations now, the absence of matches would mean that there would be no ticket sales, no ground maintenance expenses and on top of all the players will also miss out on their salaries. Players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kartik Tyagi who were going to play their maiden IPL will miss out on a massive amount of money while Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris will also miss out on their big paychecks.
Hence, these are all the possibilities of losses and we hope that IPL 2020 starts soon so that there are minimal losses for everyone.
