The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has been postponed further as on Tuesday, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3. However, there is still no clarity over the future of IPL 2020. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will review the situation only after May 3 when the government comes up with further guidelines regarding the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, as per the sources of India Today.
IPL 2020, which was scheduled to start on March 29, was initially suspended until April 15. The Indian government had announced an initial 21-day lockdown as the Covid-19 pandemic brought normal lives to a grinding halt across the globe. The 13th edition of the IPL will now be missing the April-May window which has been allotted to the cash-rich T20 tournament ever since its inception in 2008.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a global health crisis, with more than 19,37,000 people infected by the novel coronavirus across the globe. As of April 14, more than 10,000 people have been infected by the virus that has led to more than 350 deaths in India. Earlier, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had hinted at a further postponement of the cash-rich league.
As per the quotes in New Indian Express, Ganguly said, “Practically speaking, when life has come to a standstill everywhere in the world, where does sport have a future in this. We keep monitoring developments. At the present moment, we can’t say anything. And what is there to say anyway? Airports are shut, people are stuck at home, offices are locked down, nobody can go anywhere. And it seems this is how it’s going to be till the middle of May.”
Speculations were rife that the BCCI was eyeing the October-November window in which the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held, given the doubts surrounding the global T20 tournament. However, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal rubbished the speculations, saying it’s “too premature” to comment on the October-November window for IPL 2020.
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The Covid-19 outbreak has also brought the sporting world to a halt and has not even spared the Olympic Games that were scheduled to commence on July 24 but now have been postponed to 2021. On the other hand, the Euro 2020 has also been postponed until 2021 while the Champions League and Europa League finals have also been suspended.
