“Don’t do it at this time,” says Indian Government on BCCI conducting IPL 2020 amid coronavirus scare

Indian Government on BCCI conducting IPL 2020: The conundrum regarding the cash-rich league continues to do the rounds.

The outbreak of a “pandemic” in coronavirus has affected cricketing tournaments around the globe. The cash-rich Indian Premier League, which was slated to begin on March 29 originally, has also been postponed till April 15.

Given the scale at which the tournament is conducted, there is plentiful interest regarding its future. With no further government directive regarding the IPL, there are all sorts of speculations being made regarding its future.

BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) President Sourav Ganguly had earlier laid emphasis on playing the “waiting game” for nothing can be confirmed until the situation normalises in the country.

Indian Government on BCCI conducting IPL 2020

In a recent interaction with CricketNext, additional secretary of MEA and coordinator for COVID-19 Dammu Ravi opined that the government won’t advice the organisers to conduct the tournament in these times and that the final decision remains with the cricket board.

“Think it is for the organisers to decide whether to go ahead with it or not. Our advice would be to not do it at this time but if they want to go ahead, it is their decision,” Ravi was quoted as saying by CricketNext.

On the other hand, a BCCI source has mentioned that they are keen to conduct the tournament even if it means that the whole IPL 2020 gets conducted behind closed doors.

“We are keen to start the IPL on time even if it means without crowds. It could be TV-only as it is a medical emergency and we can do nothing about that,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying to AFP on conditions of anonymity.