IPL 2020 if held will give a lot of reassurance to all the cricketers, T20 WC seems bleak: Irfan Pathan

New Delhi, June 17: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) claim to host IPL this year will give a lot of reassurance to all the cricketers.

The Baroda cricketer-turned-commentator has also opined that the chances of T20 World Cup in Australia this year look bleak due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Covid19 has brought the entire world to a grinding halt and sporting action across the globe came to a standstill. The action is slowly resuming in some parts of the world behind closed doors but an event like World Cup being held in front of empty stadiums would render the sport boring. However, it won't pose as much a hurdle to a franchise-based domestic cricket tournament.

IPL 2020: Tentative dates revealed as BCCI zeroes in on September-November window

Pathan, while speaking exclusively on Star Sports Cricket Connected, talked about chances of an IPL possibly happening sometime this year, "I just read the statement yesterday that they are trying their best to have an IPL. Everybody is looking forward to that stage.

"A lot of people are talking about the World Cup happening in Australia, I have my doubts because, in Australia, I have been there. These guys in Australia follow their rules very particularly. Even if it's the smallest rule, they go by the norm. They look after each and every situation. Getting quite a few games altogether, with the quarantine and everything, I think it looks very difficult. In that regard, the statement coming from Sourav Ganguly as the president of BCCI that the IPL will happen at some stage, that's great news not only for Indian cricketers but for all cricketers around the world as well. I'm looking forward to it as well. That does give a lot of reassurance to all the cricketers," said the 35-year-old.