Rajasthan Royals Co-owner Manoj Badale Believes A Shortened IPL Is Still A Possibility

Manoj Badale, one of the co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, has revealed that the franchise owners have discussed the possibility of holding the Indian Premier League behind closed doors but it’s still unclear when the tournament can be scheduled. The IPL 2020 that was originally supposed to kick off on March 29 with the tournament opener between last year’s finalists Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings has been postponed to April 15 due to the deadly COVID-19.

Rajasthan Royals Co-owner Manoj Badale Believes A Shortened IPL

During an interview, Manoj Badale said that they have a number of calls as owners, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), to talk about what those plans might be, but IPL is clearly going to be postponed and it is unclear at this stage whether or not it takes place later this year. Badale also mentioned that the cricket calendar is so packed that there are very few gaps, especially for a seven-week tournament due to which he feels that even if a gap can be found, it would have to be a shorter tournament.

Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Royals owner also went on to say that uniqueness of the IPL is it gets the very, very best around the world so it is not just a collaboration between the BCCI, the owners and the Indian government as there needs to be a collaboration of the other cricket boards as well. The RR owner further added that what makes the IPL stand out is the presence of not just the Kohlis and the Dhonis, but also the Stokes, the Warners, and the Butlers.

Badale, however, ruled out the possibility of scrapping the tournament this year. “I think we will have some form of the tournament this year. It will probably be a shortened tournament,” he said. “As long as people are prepared to be creative and as long as boards are prepared to work together collaboratively, it [IPL] is hugely important to the game of cricket. It is not just of importance to the Indians that the IPL takes place. If it was a choice of no IPL or a domestic player-only IPL I would choose the latter,” Badale said.