The fate of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is gradually heading towards cancellation, considering how the Coronavirus pandemic is spreading all across the country. While the start of the league was postponed from March 29 to April 15, former IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla has confirmed that the league won’t start on the revised date as the lockdown is expected to be extended in the country.
The Indian government had imposed a 21-day lockdown country-wide hoping to resolve the COVID-19 concerns across the country but the number of cases has continued to increase. Although the lockdown is scheduled to end on April 14, the indications are that it will be extended.
“I don”t see any preparation, our priority is to fight coronavirus and save people. See it will all depend on the government what decision they will take. We will go by the government decision. We are hearing that lockdown may extend in this situation if you think IPL can happen by April 15 so it seems not possible,” Shukla told ANI.
In a situation where the lockdown is lifted in the coming weeks, it has to be noted that the participation of overseas players in the IPL would continue to remain in jeopardy. On March 11, the Indian government had imposed restrictions on visas for foreigners while all international flights were suspended. The arrival of foreign players, hence, remains out of question.
For a full-fledged IPL to take place, the visa restrictions would need to be lifted while the situation across the globe, especially in the respective nations of overseas players participating in the league, would also be required to normalize.
