Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia hopeful IPL 2021 can be held later this year

Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia is hopeful that the remainder of the IPL 2021 could be held later this year, possibly in a smaller window in September.

Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) may have been postponed indefinitely, but Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia is hopeful that the remainder of the tournament could be held later this year, possibly in a smaller window in September.

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly told a Bengali television channel that the Board will try and host the tournament ‘as and when’ there is a window, Wadia feels that it could be possible to do so.

“I think it (the IPL) will definitely come back, sooner than later. If you look at the cricketing window - (there is a slot in) September before the T20 World Cup. That could happen,” Wadia told  Sportstar  on Tuesday.

READ: IPL 2021 postponed due to Covid-19 cases

“Whatever has happened is unfortunate, but credit to the BCCI for taking the decision to hold it and take an even bold decision to postpone it at the right time.”

After multiple players tested positive for the virus, the BCCI decided to postpone the tournament, leading to questions on the bio-bubble. While Wadia is not sure about what went wrong, he feels the situation worsened as the cases suddenly went up in most of the states.

“It is difficult to answer. Maybe there were too many venues, maybe the testing should be looked at again. It's difficult to answer. But the positives are that no bigger tournaments have been held anywhere in the world. It is unfortunate that cases have suddenly ballooned - be it in Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka. The cases went up quickly,” the franchise boss said.

READ: IPL 2021 postponement could shift T20 World Cup to UAE

He also believed that the Board took the right decision by postponing the event at the correct time. “They took the right call at the right time. Hats off to all the players - Indians and internationals. Indian players have been inside the bubble for the last ten months and still playing. It is remarkable and the right decision has been taken at the right time,” Wadia said.

While the BCCI expects a loss of around Rs 2000 crore with the postponement of the tournament, Wadia isn’t willing to think about that yet for the franchise. “Human beings come first and monetary losses come second. If the tournament does happen again, I am not sure how much the loss would be or not. We will have to see what happens,” he said.