A fan suggests a brilliant plan to reschedule IPL; Brad Hogg proposes it to Sourav Ganguly

The proliferation of the pandemic that is the novel Coronavirus has brought the entire world to a standstill. And, the sports arena has been one of the worst-hit fields. Most of the high-profile sporting events like the Premier League, La Liga, NBA have been postponed. As far as cricket is concerned, its showpiece event- outside the International arena- Indian Premier League has also found itself in hot waters.

The 13th edition of the cash-rich league was scheduled to start from March 29th but with the Indian government making changes to the visa policy in the wake of the rising threat, BCCI was forced to postpone the start till April 15th. The apex cricketing body in the country-led by Sourav Ganguly met the franchise owners at its headquarters on Saturday to discuss the impact of coronavirus on the tournament and the road ahead.

Sourav Ganguly briefed the media after the completion of the meeting and announced that 13th edition- provided, it goes ahead- will be a truncated one. He said, “It will happen, because if it is April 15, then, in any case, 15 days are gone, it has to be truncated. How truncated, how many games, I can’t say at the moment.”

A Fan proposes a solution to Brad Hogg regarding the re-structuring of the IPL

After the announcement, a lot of fans have come up with some very interesting suggestions on social media on re-structuring the format of this years’ edition. One user, whose Twitter handle goes by @d_moinak, in a reply to former Australian leg-spinner Brad Hogg’s tweet- came up with the idea of doing away with the home-away concept and slotting eight teams in two groups of four each, with the top-two qualifying for the finals. 

“Hi Brad. Would you be comfortable with an IPL format based on the Women’s T20 WC one. 2 groups, 4 teams in each. Top 2 from each play SF & then, Final. Do away with the home-away format & limit the no. of venues. Would be better logistically too & you can get a fair tournament” he wrote.

Hi Brad. Would you be comfortable with an IPL format based on the Women's T20 WC one. 2 groups, 4 teams in each. Top 2 from each play SF & then, Final. Do away with the home-away format & limit the no. of venues. Would be better logistically too & you can get a fair tournament.

— Moinak Das (@d_moinak) March 15, 2020

Brad Hogg liked the idea so much that he tagged BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, asking him to consider what he termed as a ‘great solution’

“To Ganguly & #BCCI @d_moinak has a great solution for #IPL time-poor scenario. 2 groups of 4 each play in one region, reducing travel requirements, with 2 semi-finals and a final played at a different venue from group stages. Saves logistics & minimizes health risks. #Cricket” Hogg wrote.

To Ganguly & #BCCI @d_moinak has a great solution for #IPL time poor scenario. 2 groups of 4 each play in one region, reducing travel requirements, with 2 semi finals and a final played at a different venue from group stages. Saves logistics & minimizes health risks. #Cricket https://t.co/CxCmO7vg95

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) March 15, 2020