On Friday, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly went on to clarify that the “first priority is safety” after the Board suspended the start of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) from March 29 to April 15 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, the BCCI had decided to organize the IPL 2020 behind closed doors.
“Let’s stick to the postponement (at the moment). First priority is safety, so we postponed the games,” Ganguly said in his first reaction. Since the IPL has been postponed till April 15, when asked if there will be more doubleheaders, Ganguly replied, “We will see what happens. It is too early to answer.”
The BCCI also called off the ongoing ODI series against South Africa after the first game at HPCA stadium in Dharamsala being washed out due to rain. Asked whether the IPL franchisees are happy, Sourav revealed that nobody has given a choice as nothing is beyond the safety.
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A senior BCCI official said that only the start date has been pushed while the window remains the same with regard to the IPL. The decision to suspend IPL came hours after the Delhi government denied to organize any sporting event in the national capital due to the ever-growing health crisis. Delhi is home to the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC).
On Thursday, the sports ministry had on Thursday issued an advisory asking national federations to follow the Health Ministry’s guidelines and avoid large gatherings in sports events. Their guidance read: “The World Health Organisation (WHO), on Wednesday, assessed that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. The BCCI is making every effort for compliance with the regulatory bodies of the Government of India and ensure the safety of our athletes and valued fans. The BCCI will continue to take guidance from the Government of India and state regulatory bodies.”
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India has recorded more than 95 positive coronavirus cases so far with the global infected count standing at over 1,30,000. On the other hand, the death toll because of the virus has gone beyond 5,000 internationally.
