The 13th edition of Indian Premier League was set to begin on March 29 before the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic forced the BCCI officials to posptone the start of tournament to April 15. Later, with the number of cases rising in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a nationwide lockdown till April 15, which in all likelihood, is expected to extend further. The BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was questioned on holding IPL this year, and he said that it seems difficult to hold the tournament as of now.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Ganguly said: “We keep monitoring developments. At the present moment, we can’t say anything. And what is there to say anyway? Airports are shut, people are stuck at home, offices are locked down, nobody can go anywhere. And it seems this is how it’s going to be till the middle of May.”
“Where will you get players from, where do players travel. It’s just simple common sense that at the moment, nothing is in favour of any kind of sport anywhere in the world, forget IPL,” he said.
The former India skipper added that he might make things clear on Monday after discussing with office-bearers of BCCI.
“I will be able to give an update on that on Monday after speaking to the other office-bearers (of BCCI). But practically speaking, when life has come to a standstill everywhere in the world, where does sport have a future in this,” he said.
