File image of IPL trophy
There hasn't been any official confirmation as of yet, but it is all but certain that the 13th season of the Indian Premier League is likely to be called off owing to the rise in coronavirus concerns across the nation.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the impending season of the cash-rich league is all set to be cancelled. The official announcement will be made as soon as BCCI gets an announcement from the Indian government and the sports ministry on the visas. BCCI is likely to address the issue after April 15 when the 21-day nation-wide lockdown will end.
The report also says that if IPL takes place next year, there will be no mega auction. The same scenario will continue. As per the schedule, a mega auction was slated to happen and franchises would be allowed to retain a few and the remaining would go under the hammer.
“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 The Indian Express.
Earlier on March 14, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly announced that the 13th season will be suspended until April 15 owing to the novel coronavirus. In the next meeting over a conference call with all the franchises, there was no headway over the date of its commencement with BCCUI willing to monitor the situation in the country before taking any step. However, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for a 321-day lockdown on March 24, the uncertainty over IPL 2020 became larger.
