The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not been decided yet as they are open for a possibility of hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as early as July after it was postponed due to the 21-day coronavirus lockdown. The 2020 edition of the IPL was scheduled to begin March 29 but later forced the tournament to be put on hold due to the global pandemic.

“The board is looking at an alternate window to host matches, possibly in July, or latest during winter,” a BCCI official told CNBC-TV18.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a 21-day national lockdown to maintain social distancing and restrict the spread of the virus. Even there are talks going on that the lockdown may be extended as well in some parts.

According to estimates, if the cash-rich tournament is not held this year, the tournament might lose Rs 5,000-Rs 7,500 crore of its Rs 47,500 crore valuation (by Duff & Phelps last year). The BCCI official said that the board was still working out on their revenue process. If the tournament gets cancelled, broadcasters Star India would lose Rs 3269.50 crore who bought the right for Rs 16,347 crore in 2018 for five years. Even VIVO will lose Rs 400 crore who had also signed a Rs 2,000 crore deal for 5 years.

“If the lockdown is extended, it would be difficult to have a full-fledged IPL in the current window till the beginning of June,” said another senior BCCI official to CNBC-TV18.

 “The (Indian) premier league is a major contributor to the Star Network, and not just Star Sports,” said an insider to CNBC-TV18.

"The financial impact will be very heavy if the IPL is not played this year, but we don’t yet know how much would that be," said a Chennai Super Kings official.