Coronavirus in cricket: Everest Premier League delayed due to coronavirus threat

Everest Premier League delayed due to coronavirus threat: Nepal’s T20 league has become the first cricket tournament to get affected by coronavirus.

The outbreak of coronavirus has started to make its presence felt across the globe. People are now getting affected due to the same in all corners of the world.

The same has started to have an impact on upcoming events varying across fields including sports. Citing the possible threat of coronavirus, England captain Joe Root had laid emphasis on not shaking hands during their tour of Sri Lanka.

🤝 @root66 pic.twitter.com/ZlOm7OcGS1

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) March 3, 2020

Everest Premier League delayed due to coronavirus threat

An unfortunate development regarding the coronavirus has come from Nepal whose premier T20 competition in the Everest Premier League has been postponed following a government directive to refrain from mass gatherings.

“We are naturally all sad at today’s announcement of having to temporarily postpone the 2020 EPL, but we simply have to put the health and well-being of all Nepalis and our overseas players before everything else.

“It was crucial that we announced this decision now at the earliest possible juncture to ensure the minimum possible disruption to all of our stakeholders, who are integral parts of the ongoing success and growth of the league,” EPL Managing Director Aamir Akhtar said in a statement.

Originally commenced in 2016, Everest Premier League was all set to enter its fourth edition in 2020. The tournament was earlier bolstered by Universe Boss Chris Gayle announcing his participation in EPL 2020 for Pokhara Rhinos.

Apart from Gayle, EPL 2020 would have witnessed the presence of sensational Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and Afghanistan wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad.

While the organisers haven’t mentioned the exact date by when the tournament will begin, they did talk about working towards rescheduling the tournament on “the closest possible time whenever the situation is favourable”.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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