The Coronavirus outbreak is now officially categorized as a pandemic by the World Health organization, The Corona outbreak has also forced many counties to be isolated and enter a lockdown mode cutting off traded relations with others as a safety measure to prevent the spread of the virus. The future of IPL is still in doubt because of the outbreak.
IPL Trophy
It has also had a major effect on Sports events as they are places of mass gathering with many top European football leagues, Tokyo Olympics, India Open and many such events are running the danger of being suspended. The star-studded cricketing mega-event name the Indian Premier League seems to suffer from the same fate.
The Indian government too has applied restrictions on fresh visas in an attempt to stop the spread of the Corona Virus. This stops all the foreign players from traveling to India for the IPL. The apex cricketing board of India, BCCI is still left to release a statement.
As the Indian government has issued a ban on all existing foreign visas, It will be very difficult for foreign players to enter in India. Approx 60 foreign international players from all across the globe are set to play for their respective teams in the upcoming season of IPL. Internationals who hold a different type of visa that falls under a few categories are still allowed to travel but only till 15 April.
The BCCI committee is still unclear on what’s the next course of action. The number of positive cases of coronavirus in the world and India is increasing drastically. There have been 60 positive cases in India while the global death toll has cross 4000 already.
“Please give us two days. It’s not possible to give you concrete details at the moment,” a senior Board office bearer was quoted by PTI.
BCCI committee is rumored to have a meeting on 14th March and discuss the future of the 13th season of IPL. Playing matches in empty stadiums is also an option whose decision will be taken at the league’s Governing Council.
“All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/International organizations, employment and project visas, stand suspended till 15th April 2020. This will come into effect from 1200GMT on 13th March 2020 at the port of departure,” the statement from the government said.
Wankhede Stadium
There’s a possibility that the Maharashtra government will allow the IPL games if they are played inside empty stadiums. With the matches insured, it will benefit the Franchise owners and the BCCI as they will recover the bulk of their investment.
