Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly has suggested the 2021 Indian Premier League will be played without crowds.
The 2020 IPL was played without spectators, in the United Arab Emirates, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The BCCI allowed fans to attend matches in Ahmedabad during the recent Test series between India and England.
“Don't know yet, depends on the situation,” Ganguly told India Today.
“The IPL slightly different than a bilateral series. If you open up to crowds, there are teams playing in middle, there are teams practising outside as well.
“A lot of these stadiums have practice pitches outside, and teams practice there because they play every day. So to open it up to crowds, you expect them to get closer to the practising teams. So that could be a bit of a risk.”
“Dubai also was the same – we started closed doors and expected to open out to the crowds, but since it went so well, we didn't take the risk of having crowds back, so we'll see.”
Stadiums for IPL 2021
Earlier this week, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad were confirmed as venues for the 2021 IPL. Rajasthan, Hyderabad and other cities were overlooked.
“We've done it in clusters. So there will be three flights maximum for every team, hopefully we'll manage. Because, see, with the England tour, India have gone to Chennai, Ahmedabad and will go to Pune.
“And also the domestic teams would've travelled to a couple of venues – one for group stages and another for knockouts. We're trying to do it that way only. Hopefully it'll be fine, the numbers are much less, it's a lot better but fingers crossed.”
IPL Background
The Mumbai Indians are the reigning champions. They are the most successful franchise in the history of the tournament with five titles.
The Chennai Super Kings have three titles and the Kolata Knight Riders two. The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have won the tournament once each.
The Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings (formerly known as the Kings XI Punjab) have never won the IPL.
