The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season could meet a similar fate like several other major sporting events in the world. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a severe catastrophe across the globe, besides claiming more than 22,000 lives. The majority of countries are in lockdown owing to contain the deadly virus. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 took the same route as the Euro 2020 Championship and is set to be held next year. Other sporting events have been cancelled or postponed.
The IPL 2020 was scheduled to start from March 29 onwards. However, the pandemic saw the BCCI postponing the same to April 15. And now, it’s set to get further postponed or even cancelled entirely. India is in lockdown until April 14. Looking at the situation, a cancelled IPL 13 could be a huge loss for youngsters in the game. Many youngsters dream to make it big in the IPL to earn a call in the national team. Several of these players did reasonably well in domestic white-ball cricket and IPL was seen as a big-ticket.
Not to forget, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Deepak Chahar made their entry into the side on basis of doing well in the cash-rich tournament. Of late, players like Prasidh Krishna is someone who could be the next breakthrough player after showing his credentials for Kolkata Knight Riders and also in domestic cricket. However, despite being called the X-factor by Virat Kohli, he will need to wait. Similarly, 20-year-old Rahul Chahar would have liked to make use of the season for Mumbai Indians and showcase his mettle. CSK’s Ruturaj Gaikwad is another name that comes to mind.
IPL is a platform that boosts youngsters and helps them develop their game. With international stars present, it’s seen as a guiding force for these youngsters to take more inputs. This is a platform for these players to go out and play a fearless brand of cricket. However, if the IPL 2020 season gets cancelled, then these players get robbed of the opportunity to make it count. Nobody knows how the rest of 2020 will go for them. And then you wait for 2021.