IPL will definitely happen if normalcy returns by October: Ashish Nehra

Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has expressed his hope that IPL 2020 would likely take place in October if things return to normalcy around the world by then.

The 13th edition of Indian Premier League was scheduled to begin with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings on March 29. The coronavirus pandemic that has the world in a standstill currently led the BCCI to postpone the matches to April 15, but the tournament is likely to be cancelled as the country has been seeing a rapid increase in the number of cases across several states. However, former pacer Nehra believes there is a possibility of the IPL taking place in the last quarter of the year if the COVID-19 pandemic comes under control. “Even if the IPL doesn’t happen in August, (because) there are a lot of places in India that witness rains during that month and there are high chances that lots of matches will get cancelled. If things go back to normal around the world by October, we’ll have a 100 percent clearance,” Nehra reportedly mentioned in a show.

In an attempt to contain the spread of the virus across the country, PM Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown that came into effect on March 25 at 12.00 am and will be enforced for 21 days. 5480 cases and 170 deaths have been reported in the country so far.