IPL 2020: BCCI scraps IPL opening ceremony

BCCI won’t organize the opening ceremony ahead of the IPL 2020 season. With the ongoing pandemic, it won’t be possible to pull out the gala opening ceremony, as the opening day of the tournament would lead directly to the match. Mumbai would take on Chennai in the opener.
 

The cricket extravaganza, IPL is all set to kick-off from September 19. Unlike the previous editions, which commenced with alluring opening ceremonies, IPL would not drain out money to put out this pompous show this time. Because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the very first match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, there will be no feature of any Bollywood-style celebrations.  

According to a 2019 report from the Indian Express, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had decided to scrap the opening ceremony for the 2020 season, believing it to be a "waste of money" and unable to entice the viewers. 

"The estimated cost of hosting an IPL opening ceremony is ₹20 crores. It was unanimously decided that a sum of ₹11 crores be contributed to the Indian Army, ₹7 crore to the CRPF and ₹1 crore each to the Navy and Air Force, respectively," the BCCI had said in a statement. This move was appreciated by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai.

With the plan to scrap the IPL opening ceremony, the board will nearly save ₹20 crores.

Ganguly, who plans to entertain crowds return to the stands later in the 53-day tournament, which ends on 10 November, said "They (broadcasters) are actually expecting the highest rating of IPL this season because they believe that if (people) don't turn up in the ground, they will be actually watching on their television sets.”

He also added, "Because of the COVID-19 and infection, you don't want people to be too close to each other. But very soon, you will see there will be 30% people in the ground, with social distancing. They are properly tested and allowed to enter the ground. But, I think that is going to happen over a period of time."