IPL 2020 great news for all of us, will bring a smile on people's face, says Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, speaking in the latest episode of India Today eConclave Inspiration series, reckons that the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE will bring out some change the mood of the nation regardless of which franchise goes on to top the table amid Covid-19 times.
In Short
- IPL 2020 will be held in the UAE from September 19 to November 10
- For a change, we will be discussing other numbers, statistics rather than Covid-19 numbers: Tendulkar
- I have been watching a bit of football, F1, Test cricket in England: Tendulkar
Batting great Sachin Tendulkar said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) will help spread positivity and change the mood of the people during the Covid-19 pandemic as people will have cricket statistics to discuss rather than the coronavirus cases.
IPL 2020 was postponed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and it missed the April-May window. However, BCCI announced IPL 2020 will be held in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 after the T20 World Cup was postponed due to the pandemic.
"IPL is great news for all of us. A number of other sports have resumed, I have been watching a bit of football, F1, Test cricket in England. So it's nice that IPL will be played in the UAE," Sachin Tendulkar told India Today's Boria Majumdar on the latest episode of Inspiration.
"For a change, we will be discussing other numbers, statistics we will be discussing and talking about would be the strike rates and the run rates and not about Covid-19 -- how many cases have increased today and what are the doctors projecting. Those numbers are not what one would hear. We will hear something else now," Tendulkar added.
"I know that people after having gone to work and come back after a strenuous day, they would have something else to talk about. It could be Mumbai or Bengaluru or Delhi or whichever team which is topping the table and not the cities topping the COVID table. The cases should come down.
Sachin Tendulkar said that he hopes and prays that the coronavirus cases come down and the run rate, strike rate take the forefront when the IPL 2020 kickstarts in 2020.
"I am hoping and praying the cases to come down and the strike rate and the run rate and all those numbers are at the forefront. I just feel that this is great news not only for athletes but it’s going to do a lot of good to other people where they will be able to distract their mind and some would surely have a smile on their face," Tendulkar said.