India will try to hold IPL before T20 WC: Basit

By Our Correspondent
May 31, 2020

LAHORE: Former Test cricketer Basit Ali has challenged that India will play every card to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL) before ICC T20 World Cup this year.

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Speaking in a television news show, Basit said that India is trying hard to reschedule its Twenty20 league before T20 World Cup.

“Note it down, IPL will take place before ICC T20 World Cup. I don’t know whether UAE or Sri Lanka will host it but it will be played this year at any cost. Otherwise, I will leave my TV job,” former cricketer reiterated. Remember, there are speculations that T20 World Cup 2020 will be replaced with IPL as Cricket Australia (CA) hesitates over holding the mega event this year amid Covid-19 situation.

Talking about Ben Stokes’s comments in his book regarding no intention in run-chase from Indian batsmen against England in the group match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Basit said that such things happen in league events.

“See, it is very common in league events. Teams do such things intentionally to meet a weak opponent in the knock-out stage. That’s why I doubted India’s intention to lose against England as they didn’t want Pakistan to qualify,” he said.

It must be noted here that Basit predicted a couple of days before the match that India will lose against England intentionally to put hurdles in Pakistan’s way to qualify for the semis.

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