The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly on Thursday opened up on the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 later this year.
He also revealed the board is staring at a staggering loss if the remaining matches of the tournament are not completed this year.
Ganguly said the board is looking at a window before the T20 World Cup this year to complete the remainder of IPL 2021 season.
The league was suspended on Tuesday (May 04) after a string of COVID-19 cases were reported across the bio-bubbles of four teams.
A total of 4 players ( 2 from Kolkata Knight Riders, and one each from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals) tested positive along with support staff at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Ganguly said BCCI will be talking to the board of the other countries to zero in on a slot later this year.
He also stated that the board is staring at losses to the tune of around Rs 2,500 crore if the remaining games are not completed this year.
"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," Ganguly told The Telegraph.
"Lot of things are involved and we will slowly start working on them. If we fail to complete the IPL, the loss will be close to INR 2500 crore (USD 340 million approx). That is going by early estimates," he added.
IPL 2021 was scheduled to conclude on May 30 but the tournament had to be halted after just 29 matches due to COVID-19.
Last year, the full season of IPL was conducted smoothly in the UAE despite the pandemic and the BCCI is likely to take the same route once again this year to complete the remaining IPL 2021 matches.