IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel has recently shared that the tournament will be played according to the schedule. He also revealed that the Governing Council will meet on March 14 to have a discussion on the situation surrounding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak which has taken a toll in recent times. Moreover, he supported what BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said earlier that cricket matches have been playing without any issues around the world.
“Why will COVID-19 attack only IPL? We are monitoring the situation,” he told.
“All cricket matches, be it Ranji Trophy final or series between Afghanistan and Ireland, England and Sri Lanka and Australia-New Zealand are currently going ahead as per schedule. The Road Safety World Series is on. These matches have seen full houses at the stadium in Mumbai. Local trains are running, schools and colleges are not totally shut.”
He further added that they have been monitoring the situation on a daily basis. Even they will take all the necessary precautions as prescribed by WHO and the Ministry of Health as well. As per the recent news, the Government has stopped the visas in India as well and because of that, no one can come from Italy or other countries.
However, he assured that there will be some results after the IPL Governing Council’s meeting on 14th March. Due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the Maharashtra government has banned sales of their tickets for the upcoming IPL season. Even, Karnataka government has also looking for such options. Keeping this in mind, there is a possibility that the tournament might be played with limited or no crowd at the stadiums.
But Brijesh Patel said that they will take a call on all this as and whenever needed. The upcoming edition of much-anticipated Indian Premier League is scheduled to start on March 29 in Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium where the defending champions Mumbai Indians will be played against Chennai Super Kings in the opener of the tournament.
Notably, coronavirus has not only affected the IPL but also in many cricket series. The Bangladesh Cricket Board have decided to limit their sale of tickets for the opening T20 international match against Zimbabwe in Dhaka to one per person due to the threat posed by the coronavirus. On the other hand, Nepal’s Everest Premier League has been delayed on government advice and the ICC has decided to postpone a World Cup qualifying event as well.
