Chances of staging the Indian Premier League this year seem remote but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering the August-September window in case the country recovers from the deadly COVID-19 outbreak in time. The BCCI had postponed the IPL to April 15 in the wake of the outbreak but with more positive cases being reported every passing day, chances of holding the tournament in April seem bleak.
Desperate BCCI plans to clear August-September window to hold IPL
The Indian board is hopeful of pulling off this contingency plan as both the Asia Cup and the IPL has Star Sports as the common broadcaster. The BCCI will have to take the lead in convincing the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to postpone the Asia Cup to a later date. The broadcasters would stand to lose a lot more if the IPL is called off for the Asia Cup.
Extra year: New hope for some, a struggle for others
Purely from the health and safety perspective, the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic was inevitable, and had the unanimous stamp of approval from athletes. But restrict it to the narrow prism of sporting performance, and the delay may turn out to be a boon for some, and a bane for others.
Fitness schedule at home similar to that on tour
Everyday a top athlete will talk about her or his experience of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is Shubhankar Sharma, a two-time winner on the European Tour. The 23-year-old became the youngest Indian golfer in 2018 to feature in all four Majors in a calendar year.