Indian Premier League (IPL) is the lucrative league where big cricketers around the world participate. The most-watched league is said to be the best platform for the teams to groom themselves for the major event. Australia’s head coach Justin Langer also believes IPL is the best tournament for preparations.
But this year’s IPL is on the verge of the cancellation because of coronavirus which has taken lives of 24,000 people across the world.
The deadly virus has forced BCCI to postpone the tournament till 15th April. Earlier, it was scheduled to start from 29th March. The increase in the number of cases will further delay the tournament or BCCI might have to call off the tournament.
Justin Langer on importance of IPL 2020:
Justin Langer said that IPL is the major part of the preparation for the Australian team before they head to play ICC T20 World Cup 2020. He further said that but it is important to prioritise the safety of players.
“Before this crisis started to unravel, we were absolutely determined for our guys to play the IPL,” Langer was quoted as saying by foxsports.co.au.
“Because with the T20 World Cup coming up, there’s no better grounding, no better practice, no better tournament for them to get ready for that,” he added.
“But obviously things have changed a lot. The health of not only our individual players but also our country and India as a whole is paramount here,” Langer said.
The head coach is not in worry over the selection of the T20 World Cup squad. He hints that the team management has already decided the team after Australia won the T20I series against South Africa by 2-1.
“In terms of selection, I’m not too stressed about it … one or two positions in our World Cup side are up for grabs. It’s a very, very settled team. We played great cricket against South Africa,” he added.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2020 is scheduled in October in Australia but the pandemic might affect the mega event as well.