Even as the fate of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League hangs in balance due to the coronavirus outbreak, both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as the IPL franchises are keeping fingers crossed in order to have a full season of the cash-rich league. And a major player in this scenario is the foreign boards as an IPL without the foreign players wouldnt be the carnival it is. So, even as the country fights the pandemic, BCCI has been keeping foreign boards in the loop with regards to developments.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that the foreign boards like Cricket Australia or the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa among others have all been constantly updated on the scenario and the directives of the government with regards to fighting COVID-19.
"While various options have been discussed like a closed-door tournament, or a curtailed one, it is almost clear that everyone wants foreign players to be a part of the IPL and that is one of the major highlights of the tournament. So, we have been constantly updating the boards of the situation here and the directives that are being issued by the health department as well as the government in the fight against coronavirus.
"In fact, it is a two-way process as international border lockdown is also an aspect that needs to be kept in mind because at the end of the day whenever the IPL does happen, the foreign players need to fly in," the official pointed.
The BCCI is now looking at the October-November window to host the IPL. But the move can only be possible if the ICC decides to postpone the World T20 that is to be held later in the year. IPL franchises, on their part, have decided that they will have the next meeting only after the government comes up with a fresh advisory on or after April 14.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to 49 sports personalities that included the likes of BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, badminton world champion P.V. Sindhu and chess legend Viswanathan Anand as he urged them to keep spreading awareness as the world fights the coronavirus pandemic.
