The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to be cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As per a report in The Indian Express, the BCCI is waiting for an announcement from the Indian government and sports ministry on visas before it makes the news official.
With the country in a 21-day lockdown period and the positive cases on the rise – touching nearly 1000 on Sunday night -a source from IPL administration told the national daily, “IPL will not happen this year. It will now happen next year. We all know how the situation is at the moment in the country and no one will take any risk. One can t have social distancing in the stadium. It s better to play IPL next year.”
On March 14, the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said that everyone s safety and people s well-being remains the top priority and if at all the IPL takes place, it will be truncated. However, with the outbreak spreading all across the globe at an alarming rate all sporting activities have been suspended, including the Tokoy 2020 Olympics, which has now be slated for July 2021.
“Also, no mega auction will take place. We will inform the franchises once we get final confirmation from the Indian government, the same season can continue next season, the report further added.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs briefed the media in New Delhi and urged the sports federations to decide wisely on holding events. Think it is for the organisers to decide whether to go ahead with it or not, Dammu Ravi, additional secretary, MEA and coordinator for COVID-19, had said.
The 60-game league is said to generate more than $11 billion a year to the Indian economy and Chinese mobile-maker Vivo paid $330 million to be the top sponsor for 2018-2022.