'If we fail to complete IPL, the loss will be close to INR 2500 crore'

The 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League was suspended indefinitely after 29 matches were played due to a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases inside the bio-bubble.

Two IPL matches were postponed (Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday and Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians on Tuesday) after two players from the KKR camp and Wriddhiman Saha from the SRH unit had returned positive results, before the BCCI took the call to halt this season's IPL.

As the BCCI looks to create a backup, its main aim is to eye a window in the calendar year to stage the remainder of the IPL.

With a packed FTP schedule, the board might be in for a tedious task, and if for some reason, the same cannot be figured out, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly indicated a loss of over INR 2000 crore or more.

"If we fail to complete the IPL, the loss will be close to INR 2500 crore (USD 340 million approximately). That is going by early estimates," Ganguly told The Telegraph in an interview.

"There has got to be a lot of shuffling. Only a day has passed since we suspended the IPL. We have to speak to other boards and see if a window can be made available before the T20 World Cup. Lots of things are involved and we will slowly start working on them."

On Thursday, several counties in England stepped up and offered to play host to the remainder of the IPL.

MCC, Surrey, Warwickshire and Lancashire are part of group, even though the existing schedule remains a challenge. But at the same point, it makes sense because India are to travel to England for a four-month-long tour to play the World Test Championship against New Zealand, followed by five Tests against the host country that go till September.

Ganguly doesn't consider the IPL suspension a blow but admits things will have to get better before a decision can be taken.

As for whether the current situation puts the status of the ICC T20 World Cup – which is scheduled to take place later this year in India – in jeopardy, Ganguly feels assuming anything right now won't be right.

"I wouldn't say it (IPL suspension) is a blow... Don't forget last year we had no Wimbledon or Olympics. These are extraordinary times and we have to take it in our stride and move on. We can't do much in these situations. Perhaps we have to only wait for things to improve," he said.

"Let's see what happens to the World T20. There's still some time left and we don't know how things will pan out a month later... Can't comment right now. But let's not assume things."