New Delhi, October 28: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly is elated with the response Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has received from the viewers. The thirteenth edition of the cash-rich league is being held in the UAE behind closed doors due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The players are confined to a biosecure bubble and have been following strict protocols and undergoing regular COVID-19 tests to keep themselves safe throughout the tournament.
In an exclusive chat on Star Sports' show, Cricket Live, Sourav Ganguly - the former India captain - talked about how this year's IPL received great viewership and ratings.
Ganguly - who is a co-owner of Indian Super League (ISL) franchise ATK-Mohun Bagan - also spoke his shoot for ISL, the next big sporting spectacle that will commence in Goa, 20th November 2020 onwards.
Talking about the success of IPL 2020 Ganguly said: "Unbelievable, and I am not surprised at all. When we were discussing with Star (official broadcasters of the Dream11 IPL 2020) and all the people concerned - if we have to do it this year and one-month prior to the tournament, we were contemplating, whether this can happen or not, what will be the ultimate result of the bio-bubble and will it be successful. We decided to move ahead with our plan, because we wanted to bring normalcy in everyone's lives and wanted to bring the game back. I am not surprised with the feedback. This is the best tournament in the world.
"There have been so many super overs, we recently witnessed a double super over, we saw Shikhar Dhawan's batting, we saw Rohit Sharma, we saw all the young players and we witnessed the comeback of KL Rahul's KXIP from the bottom of the table. You will get everything here! I can bet you that the IPL has been a smashing success this year, in terms of the ratings, the number of people who have watched the game. Also, I just shot for the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) promo and the tagline is, "Cricket khatam hoga, lekin khel nahi! Hero ISL jald aa raha hai, aur game jaari rahega Hero ISL ke saath. And hopefully it will be a cracker of a season again."