With ‘lockdown’ extended till May 3 and the IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely, Hyderabad Cricket Association will suffer a loss of Rs 3.5 crore, if the league is not held at all this year.
As per the revised norms of the BCCI, the hosting fee for each IPL game has been increased from the previous Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh which would effectively mean a revenue of about Rs 3.5 crore for the seven home games of the host association. In addition, the BCCI has also decided to pay Rs 50 lakh to the State Association, effectively increasing the staging fee to Rs 1 crore.
“This is a serious setback for sure. We have to find ways to sustain the Association in what will be arguably very tough times once, hopefully, the current crisis eases,” says a senior member of the Apex Council of HCA in a chat with Sportstar.
Interestingly, though the HCA, like most of the affiliated units of BCCI, will get about Rs 40 crore as annual grant but unlike in the past, it is not released at one stretch.
“Yes, now instalments of Rs 10 crore are released and the next payment is made only after the Association submits detailed audited account for each of the instalments paid,” he said. “No doubt, this is the right thing to do as there will be far less scope for any manipulation or misappropriation,” he added.
The Association official also hopes if situation improves there could be an alternate window for a shortened version of IPL around August-September.
“The fact that the franchises were told that IPL has only been postponed and not cancelled for the year, means there are still some outside chances, of course, if things change for the good on the COVID-19 front,” the HCA official says.
Meanwhile, it is also informed that there is no response so far from the State government to the HCA offer to set up an isolation centre at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) which was to originally host the IPL matches.
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