The participation of foreign players in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has now come under doubts as the Central government has issued new visa restrictions to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
After the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a pandemic, the Government of India (GOI) has suspended all tourist visas and e-visas granted on or before March 11.
As per a statement issued by the Ministry of Health, “All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organizations, employment, project visas, stand suspended till April 15, 2020.”
Visa restrictions issued by Bureau of Immigration (BOI) after meeting of GoM on #COVID19 today.#SwasthaBharat #HelpUsToHelpYou @PMOIndia @drharshvardhan @AshwiniKChoubey @MIB_India @PIB_India @DG_PIB @MEAIndia @MoCA_GoI @shipmin_india @tourismgoi pic.twitter.com/dI8tNxihLW
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 11, 2020
The order comes into effect from 1200 GMT on Friday, March 13.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on the other hand, will now wait for the next couple of days to decide its future course of action after the government issued a fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas.
“Please give us two days. It’s not possible to give you concrete details at the moment,” a senior Board office-bearer told PTI on Wednesday as quoted by HT.
As per media reports, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has jumped to over 60 as of Thursday morning.
