The Sports Ministry has issued a statement stating that the fortuity of the 13th Edition of the Indian Premier League will only be decided after the government issues fresh advisory after April 15, keeping in mind the present situation then due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said that it is the Board of Control for Cricket in India which takes the final decision on the cricketing matters, the pandemic is something that has a direct effect on the lives of the citizens of the country.
“After April 15 the government will come up with new advisory and guidelines according to the situation. BCCI is a body that looks after cricket which is not an Olympic sport. But here it is not the question of the sporting event alone but a question of the safety of the citizens. In an event there will be thousands of spectators. So it is not just for the sports bodies or sportspersons it is for every citizen of the country,” Rijiju said.
The BCCI had put a hold on conducting the IPL till April 15 even though the tournament was set to commence from March 29, after the Indian government issued a travel advisory that stated that any foreign player wouldn’t be issued visas to come into the country. The meeting was conducted on March 11 as the following decision was taken by the BCCI officials.
The very next day on March 12, the Sports Ministry made it clear that all sporting events shall be cancelled or postponed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and if the event is unavoidable, it shall take place in the closed doors to avoid the gathering of the spectators.
The Delhi government also issued a notice stating that there would be no IPL games played in Delhi before March 31. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also met with the IPL Franchise owners at the Mumbai Headquarters and ensured that the BCCI would be taking appropriate actions keeping in mind the advisory issued by the government.
