Coronavirus effect on cricket: Foreign players unavailable for IPL 2020 till April 15; BCCI, franchises mull options

With government cancelling all regular visas to India except diplomatic and official visas from March 13, the future of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 looks bleak. Foreign players, who were all set to take part in IPL 2020 will not be available till April 15 due to the cancellation of visas by the government. This comes as a massive news for the future of IPL 2020 with officials and state authorities already sweating about the future of the cash-rich tournament for the 13th edition. Now, all eyes will be on the IPL governing council meeting which is scheduled to be held on March 14. In India, there have been at least 71 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and that has made the government take major steps in a bid to curb the spreading of the novel virus.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. Furthermore, Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Julaniya has said that all national federations, including the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), have been asked to follow Health ministry's advisory and avoid large gatherings.

Even the Paralympic Committee of India has decided to put stop all national and state championships, with an immediate effect, due to the novel coronavirus. So far, the BCCI has been adamant that IPL 2020 should go as per schedule but with the situation deteriorating with each passing day, big calls have to taken by the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and IPL chairman Brijesh Patel.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The IPL governing council meeting would decide the fate of the cash-rich tournament which is scheduled to kickstart from March 29 with the tournament opener set to be played between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said. Meanwhile, matches behind closed doors is a realistic option being explored, at the moment, but final details are expected after the IPL governing council meeting on Saturday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Top said that IPL 2020 should be held behind closed doors with no spectators or else it should be postponed.

"In the current situation, it is not possible to schedule the IPL match in a packed stadium. We want it to happen in closed doors or postpone it for a later date. The final decision will be taken tomorrow. We all are of the view that IPL should not take place at this time as it can be very dangerous," Tope told reporters.