T20 World Cup unlikely in 2020, IPL could get bigger window instead
With social distancing going to be the norm in the days to come, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners are confident that the T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia later this year, is going to be a non-starter. They feel that the IPL is the only tournament which can be conducted behind closed doors as it can survive without the revenue from ticket sales.
Some of the former Australians players have already stated that conducting the T20 World Cup without spectators is not the way ahead. But the more pressing reason is the economics of conducting the tournament. Ticket sale is one of the sources of income for the International Cricket Council's (ICC) premier tournament and hence the cricket body will not be in a position to hold the event behind closed doors.
On the other hand, a domestic event like IPL can still survive without spectators coming to the stadia. Therefore, the IPL owners are discussing getting a bigger window and not just having a truncated version of the tournament this year.
Closed doors T20 World Cup not a possibility for ICC
Sources said that there are also worries about how much the fans would be willing to spend on buying tickets, besides maintaining social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus despite all safety measures.
"It is also a dicey situation for the ICC management to organise big events when major tennis, football and athletic events aren't happening this year. So our understanding is simple. If at all cricket happens in autumn, it is got to be IPL for sure," a team official told Sportskeeda on Sunday.
Sources also said that ICC makes anything between $5 to 10 million from the sale of tickets, and in Australia, the expected amount could have been much higher. With the policy of the world governing body not to waste the opportunity to generate revenue, the IPL teams are hoping that the richest T20 league would get preference over the world event.
Meanwhile, an IPL team makes at least $5 million from gate receipts and make another $40 to 50 through other modes of revenue stream. "So, IPL can happen without spectators and with the entire world getting hooked to TV once again and IPL viewing over 90 per cent on TV, chances of hosting IPL are really bright. One thing is for sure, it is tough for World T20 to sustain without fans inside the stadium," another official added.