(Image source from: insidesport.co)

The BBCI is under the condition of cancelling the 13th edition of Indian Premier League due coronavirus pandemic. As the crowd would be huge, it may be forced to cancel the IPL this year.

In case, the IPL is not held this year, it will be a loss of 3269.50 crore loss for the host broadcaster.

Star Indian will be at a direct loss of 3269.50 in case of IPL cancellation. It is also a loss for the host broadcaster of Indian Cricket who invests Rs 16,347.50 crores for the worldwide rights of IPL for a consecutive period of 5 years from 2018-2022.

Previously, the 13th edition of IPL was postponed and scheduled from March 29 to May 4 this year. Due to the extended lockdown orders from Indian government, it got postponed to April 15.

"The BCCI is looking at a big revenue loss. In case the IPL does not take place, the loss would be close to 40 billion rupees ($530 million), or even more," said BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal.

The officials and authorities of BCCI are looking for the possible chances of conducting the IPL tournament in the last quarter of the year. But the fact is, even that would be a big effort due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are not sure whether we will be able to have it this year," Dhumal admitted. "We will only be able to figure out the exact revenue loss once we are sure of how many games we have lost."

The various football clubs are cutting off the wages to manage the losses. Whereas BCCI is managing extra hard not to cut off the salaries for Indian cricketers.

Dhumal also confirmed that the board would not hesitate to drop India's tour to Sri Lanka in June if the situation continues to be the same.

"The safety and health of our cricketers is paramount and any shred of doubt, we will not shy away from calling it off," Dhumal said.

By Ramya C