'BCCI will surely finish IPL, will add 7 days to it if necessary': Sourav Ganguly during border tension
The fate of IPL 2025 remains uncertain at the moment. BCCI made the call to postpone the league for one week because of security concerns stemming from an increase in military tension between India and Pakistan that had led to cross-border skirmishes. Stakeholders and fans have all been left guessing, with no one being certain when or where the IPL would be played if it returns in 2025.
Nevertheless, Indian legend and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly stood firm in his confidence that the IPL would happen as scheduled, supporting the country cricket board to see action returning as soon as possible.
Referring to the disrupted IPL seasons in 2020-21 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, while he was in office, Ganguly has stated in an interview to India Today: "Even where there were so many issues in 2020 and 2021, the IPL still got through. The BCCI is so effective that they will definitely get the IPL through."
Ganguly also supported the possibility of the BCCI having sufficient authority to make the tournament happen even with a week's lag. 17 more games are to be played in the IPL, including the suspended PBKS vs DC game and the four play-off matches.
"BCCI will surely organize IPL. It's a break of seven days, the tournament will also get prolonged by seven days if required," the previous Indian captain replied.
Additionally, while questioned on what it takes to make a tournament go through when faced with such a halt, Ganguly claimed that this halt was not equal to the haults that were experienced in the Covid seasons. Both those years had the IPL resume in September-October, completed to its full duration in the UAE.
In addition, Ganguly emphasized the importance of the BCCI cooperating hand-in-hand with the ministerial authorities and the government, a requirement increased during a period of crisis and conflict surrounding the country.
"A situation like Covid just cannot happen again. Matches were played during Covid, and the instructions given by the Indian government, BCCI worked according to that," said Ganguly.
The BCCI issued a formal statement declaring the suspension of the tournament, with players and overseas internationals to travel back home temporarily. All other options are available, with the probable strategy being to stage the rest of the tournament in place of the September this year-arranged Asia Cup, whose own destiny also hangs in the balance due to the tension within South Asia.
