In the wake of Covid-19 or Coronavirus outbreak, the future of the IPL 2020 is under the dark cloud. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is trying hard to keep alive the IPL 2020, but the cash-rich board is facing huge challenges at the present moment.
IPL 2020 will be the 13th edition of this tournament. The tournament schedule has already been confirmed as the tournament will run between 29th March and 24th May 2020.
All the eight participating teams are in the final mood to set up the team and support staff.
But the coronavirus outbreak has messed up the present situation. While it was already raising the issue of the availability of the foreign players in the IPL 2020, the Indian government has recently cancelled most of the visas till 15th April 2020.
So, there are huge possibilities that the foreign players will miss almost the first half of the IPL 2020.
A BCCI source told PTI, “The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government’s directive, they can’t come till April 15.”
Globally more than 1,20,000 people have been affected in the Coronavirus, while the death has been reported more than 4,000. In India, more than 62 Coronavirus cases have been reported.
However, the situation is changing rapidly, and the condition is becoming more serious.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also raised its concern on this matter.
The Indian state governments are also taking the present situation seriously. Some of the state governments have requested to postpone the IPL 2020 or organise the IPL 2020 behind the close doors.
IPL 2020: The present scenario is a huge challenge for the BCCI and IPL –
The BCCI is facing a challenging situation to organise the IPL 2020. However, they are trying to organise this tournament in the best possible way under the current circumstances.
A BCCI official told IANS, “The present scenario is a huge challenge for the BCCI-IPL and it is one where the circumstances are changing every few hours, and the BCCI has no control over these circumstances. As is usually the case in such situations, the BCCI would be in regular touch with the concerned departments to take the best possible course of action in the interest of the game, the players, the fans and the league.”
On Wednesday (11th March), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has postponed the Mujib 100 T20 Cup Bangladesh 2020. In the celebration of birth centenary of the nation’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the BCB planned to organise the two-match T20I series between Asia XI and World XI on 21st and 22nd March 2020.
While the BCB can’t guarantee on the availabilities of the foreign international players, they have decided to postpone it.