Harshita
NEW DELHI: There has been much debate on the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the coronavirus fear. Now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken the decision and thus, has postponed the event.
Originally, the IPL was scheduled to start from 29th March but now, the league will be held from April 15th, confirmed the officials. Taking it to Twitter to make the announcement, BCCI wrote, "Announcement: #VIVOIPL suspended till 15th April 2020 as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) situation."
🚨Announcement🚨: #VIVOIPL suspended till 15th April 2020 as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) situation.
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 13, 2020
More details ➡️ https://t.co/hR0R2HTgGg pic.twitter.com/azpqMPYtoL
A BCCI official told the news agency IANS that the information has been circulated to all the IPL franchises. The official said, "Yes, the internal decision has been made to postpone the start of the tournament and it will begin on April 15, the BCCI has informed the franchises about the same."
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The government cancelled all visas (except for some special categories) till 15th April due to the rapidly-spreading of the novel virus in the country. So far, more than 70 positive cases have been confirmed in India. India has also reported its first death because of this pandemic virus.
The BCCI will be meeting all the IPL team owners on Saturday before the IPL Governing Council meeting and then it will be discussed the way forward.
Earlier, the franchises have made it clear that they are on board of the idea of having the event without any audiences but they want foreign players in their teams as then the idea of IPL would be completed.
An official of a franchise said, "Yes, we have been informed that the IPL will now start from April 15, but what we need clarity on the availability of the foreign players. The IPL loses its charm if we don't have the four foreigners in the teams. After all, they are just as integral a part of the teams as the Indian stars."
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