Coronavirus outbreak: IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely
The 13th edition of Indian Premier League has been postponed indefinitely in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. According to a BCCI functionary, all the franchises were informed about development. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, announced an extension of the incumbent nationwide lockdown till May 3. The official revealed current circumstances call for the IPL to be deferred. Here is more.
Franchise owners vouch for postponement
A couple of franchise officials believe there is no other way to deal with the plight. "Yes, the BCCI has informed us and we also believe that there is no two ways about this that at present we cannot have an IPL," an official said. He added, "Let us hope for the best. We can have one later when things return to normalcy."
There is no choice other than postponing IPL
"We have to fight the pandemic and there is no choice for now. These are extraordinary times. We can't talk about cricket and IPL at the moment so it has been indefinitely postponed and franchises have been informed about it," the functionary said.
The tournament was scheduled to begin on March 29
The impending IPL season was initially deferred from March 29 to April 15, after the government imposed stern travel restrictions. The advent of lockdown further made the possibilities bleak. There were a number of speculations that India's cash-rich league could be played behind closed doors. Moreover, the BCCI was also planning to stage the tournament in October-November window.
The pandemic has adversely affected sports community
The entire sports fraternity is facing the wrath of COVID-19. Previously, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was postponed by a year, owing to the outburst. Although a cloud of uncertainty also lies over T20 World Cup, the possibility of it getting redundant is far fetched. The deadly virus has so far claimed over 1,27,000 lives globally, while death toll in India has crossed 11,000.
