Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has stated that 2020 IPL in UAE will change the mood of the nation irregardless of which franchise wins the title or which players score runs and take wickets.
The two-time world champion added that 2020 IPL will be bigger than the previous 12 editions because “this one is for the nation”. Gambhir also opined that UAE is a great venue to play any format of cricket.
“Doesn’t matter where it goes but obviously it goes to UAE, it’s a great venue to play any format and plus most importantly it is going to change the mood of the nation. It’s not about which franchise win, which player score runs, which guy takes wicket, it’s just changing the mood of the nation. So, this IPL probably will be bigger than rest of the IPL because I think this if for the nation,” Gambhir, who has himself won the IPL title twice as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who was sharing the frame with Gautam Gambhir on the show, reckoned that there could be no better news than a positive decision on hosting the 13th edition of IPL. Irfan Pathan said that the entire nation was waiting for the IPL since the last four months and now that it has been confirmed everyone will breathe a sigh of relief.
Irfan Pathan said a lot of careers depend on the cash-rich league and added that all the cricketers were also waiting for it as IPL provides the much-needed financial support to them. The Baroda-born also salivated on the aspect of high quality cricket in “world’s best T20 league.”
“We were waiting for IPL for four months, 4 months is a long time but we all were waiting for IPL. Nothing better than this news because so many things depend on that, lot of careers depend on that and lot of financial support depends on IPL and so all the cricketers are waiting. But most importantly the kind of cricket we are going to see, the kind of competition. Nothing gets better than this wonderful league which is one of the best in the world,” Pathan said.
IPL was originally scheduled to start on March 29 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. BCCI tried its best to host the event in India but the rising number of coronavirus cases in the nation left the board with no option but to take the league to UAE.
The news of the IPL finally starting was revealed by IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel. He confirmed that the IPL would be starting on the 19th of September with the final to be played to end the tournament on the 8th of November.
Remaining details including team departures, health and safety protocols, SOP’s for the tournament including other important details are expected to be revealed after the IPL Governing Council meeting next week.
