The IPL governing council will hold a meeting to discuss how the global Coronavirus scare might affect the upcoming IPL season.
Lots of events had already been postponed due to the ongoing Coronavirus scare around the world. In line with that, the IPL may also suffer the same fate as several other cricket events that had been cancelled.
This upcoming Saturday, March 14, the IPL’s governing council is set to hold a meeting to discuss how the IPL will be held this year. The Maharashtra government had already asked the governing body if the IPL may either be postponed or held without an audience to minimize large people gatherings.
With the Indian number of COVID-19 cases rising to 60, a large audience would definitely seem a bad idea for any event. As per chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, the BCCI is ready to hold the IPL without any audience which means that there will be no ticket selling. The BCCI has not received any official request yet but if necessary, they may postpone the IPL.
As it has been confirmed that there would really not be any ticket selling if the IPL pushes through, the fate of the IPL remains to be indefinite. The possibility of the IPL pushing through holds a risk of the league not earning enough income compared to what they had foreseen. However, the possibility of the IPL being postponed is also not ideal for a new schedule may not coincide on the foreign players’ availability given that 2020 is a World Cup year as well.
As a safety precaution, India has already suspended all existing visas for foreigners to prevent the possible spread of the virus. However, the visas of the overseas players of the IPL are exempted from the suspension.
The IPL is supposed to start with a match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium. To know more about the IPL, visit Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the Indian Premier League?
