Bullish about the Indian Premier League’s success as a television-only event, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday said he expects the T20 tournament to shatter viewership records this year, reported PTI.
The 13th edition of the tournament is taking place in the United Arab Emirates, starting from September 19 and ending on November 10. It will be the second time the league is being held in its entirety outside India (2009 in South Africa being the other instance), while UAE partially hosted the 2014 edition. On both occasions, the reason was the General Elections n India. This time the tournament has been moved due to the coronavirus situation in India.
“Crowds will watch it on television...they (the broadcasters) are actually expecting the highest rating of IPL this season because they believe if (people) don’t turn up in the ground, they will be actually watching on their television sets,” Ganguly said while delivering an online lecture as part of the Symbiosis Golden Jubilee Lecture Series.
“There is a positive in everything,” he added.
Ganguly, who’s tenure extension as BCCI president is pending a decision from the Supreme Court, also said holding the IPL was important to ensure a sense of normalcy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked how cricketers would feel about playing in front of empty stands, Ganguly said, “you don’t want people to be too close to each other [due to the pandemic], but very soon you will see there will be 30% people in the ground with social distancing.
“They are properly tested and allowed to enter the ground. But I think that is going to happen over a period of time,” he added referring to the possibility of IPL’s later matches being opened for fans depending on the pandemic situation.
“...it is actually an effort to bring life back to normal. This will go on for another five-six months till the vaccine comes and I am sure everything then will be back to normal,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
