Coronavirus outbreak has halted the travel of players to different countries. Australian cricketers might have to give up their IPL 2020 contract as they will possibly not travel to India if conditions get worsen.
IPL 2020 has been postponed till mid of April, but the date is still not fixed. Earlier, the cash-rich league was scheduled to start from 29th March. BCCI is organizing regular meetings with all IPL franchises owners to decide the fate of the most popular T20 league.
Cricket Australia (CA) chief Kevin Roberts has advised its players to take a responsible call for their participation in the league. He hoped that a player should take advice from the board before coming to a decision.
“We can provide advice. We’re conscious of the fact that Australian players are individually contracted to the IPL and the time will certainly come very soon where players are going to be really interested and leaning on our perspective as their leader… to advise them in that regard,” Roberts said.
“And then there will also be a perspective from the BCCI and their IPL division within that and together with our players and the BCCI, I am sure players will reach the best possible decisions in uncertain circumstances.”
Cricket Australia is also reviewing players’ participation in The Hundred 2020
A local Australian newspaper has recently reported that the CA is reviewing whether they should permit the players to participate in IPL 2020 or The Hundred series in the UK.
There are more than 15 Australian players have contracted with different IPL franchises. Some big names are pacer Pat Cummins, former skipper Steve Smith, opener David Warner and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. They have bagged hefty amounts from the franchises. In the 2020 auction, Cummins had become the highest-paid overseas player in the history of the IPL with a contract worth USD 3.17 million with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).