The thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended till April 15 as a precautionary measure against the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19). The popular annual tournament will not begin on March 29 as per the existing schedule.
In his first response after the BCCI’s decision, Sourav Ganguly when asked whether the IPL will take place this year said: “Let’s stick to the postponement at the moment. We’ll see. It is too early to comment anything now.”
When asked about BCCI’s priority, Ganguly said, “Our priority is safety so we postponed the game.” Replying to a query about whether the franchisees are happy with the postponement he said, “Nobody has a choice. Even the board does not have a choice.”
Later in the day, the three-match ODI series between India and South Africa was also called off due to the precaution against the virus. The Sports Ministry has issued an advisory to all the national sports federations to follow the guidelines set by the Health Ministry in order to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
There are many confusions amongst the athletes at this moment. Two Advisories are issued by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports for matches abroad and the domestic. There's no restrictions on playing but guidelines to be followed strictly in the larger interest of health. pic.twitter.com/RoohGcsOma
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) March 12, 2020
