Coronavirus: IPL 2020 all set to be cancelled, no mega auction next year

Tags: Indian T20 League 2020, IPL 2020, Coronavirus

Published on: Mar 31, 2020

As widely predicted, the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to be cancelled in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic that is getting worse by the day. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier postponed the start of the tournament from March 29 to April 15. However, under the current circumstances, it is highly unlikely that the IPL will go ahead this year.

“IPL will not happen this year. It will now happen next year. We all know how the situation is at the moment in the country and no one will take any risk. One can’t have social distancing in the stadium. It’s better to play IPL next year. Also, no mega auction will take place. We will inform the franchises once we get final confirmation from the Indian government, the same season can continue next season,” a source in the IPL administration was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

According to the report, the Indian board is waiting for the announcement from the Centre and Sports ministry on visas before it clears the air on the IPL. It may be noted that the Indian government has suspended all foreign visas till April 15.

Further, according to The Indian Express report, there will be no mega auction next year. As per the earlier schedule, a mega auction was to take place in 2021, wherein franchises could retain a certain number of players while the rest would go back into the auction pool.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had earlier expressed hope that a truncated IPL could be held. “We will monitor further. Safety is most important. As much as we want to host IPL, we also need to be careful about security,” Ganguly had stated earlier.

India is currently on a 21-day lockdown, following an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the nation last week. The Coronavirus pandemic has affected more than 7,20,000 people globally and almost 33,000 people have lost their lives so far. As for India, 1071 cases of COVID-19 have been reported while the death toll stands at 29, according to the Health Ministry.

Not only the IPL, Coronavirus has thrown the entire sporting calendar out of gear. The Tokyo Olympics, which was scheduled to be held this year, will now take place from July 23 to August 8 next year. Even Euro 2020 has been postponed to 2021.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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