Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has said that the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be 'bigger than the rest', due to the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic around the globe.
The IPL was initially suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19, but it was confirmed earlier this week by the league's chairman Brijesh Patel that the tournament will return on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates.
Gambhir said that the upcoming IPL will "change the mood of the nation."
"Doesn't matter where it goes but obviously it goes to UAE, it's a great venue to play any format and plus most importantly it is going to change the mood of the nation," said the former India opener on Star Sports' show, 'Cricket Connected'.
"It's not about which franchise win, which player score runs, which guy takes wicket, it's just changing the mood of the nation. So, this IPL probably will be bigger than rest of the IPL because I think this if for the nation."
On the same show, Irfan Pathan had also said that it was a "wonderful experience" for him to play the IPL in the UAE in 2014, and expects a similar tournament this time around.
He further said that the league is one of the "best in the world" and expressed delight at its comeback.
"We were waiting for IPL for four months, 4 months is a long time but we all were waiting for IPL. Nothing better than this news because so many things depend on that, lot of careers depend on that and lot of financial support depends on IPL and so all the cricketers are waiting. But most importantly the kind of cricket we are going to see, the kind of competition. Nothing gets better than this wonderful league which is one of the best in the world," said Pathan.
