Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rescheduled the start of IPL 2020 from March 29 to April 15 in wake of the novel Coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed more than 14,000 lives and infected over 338,000 people globally so far.
However, as per a latest India Today report, the 13th edition of IPL may be delayed further if the COVID-19 crisis deepens in the country.
As of Monday (March 23), India has tested more than 400 positive cases for Coronavirus and recorded seven deaths due to the epidemic.
According to the sources, the BCCI is also pondering over a truncated IPL season at the end of this year. A decision on the lucrative T20 league is likely to be taken by the end of this month. The event might even be called off if the spread of the virus goes out of hand in India.
Last week, news agency ANI had reported that the Indian board will have a conference call with the IPL franchises on March 24 to discuss the fate of the tournament.
"BCCI and IPL franchise to have a conference call on coming Tuesday to discuss the process and further way of IPL 2020. BCCI office has closed so no meeting can be held there similarly no meeting can be held in the hotel so they have opted conference call," a BCCI source told ANI.
Moreover, there is also a massive concern regarding the issuance of visa to foreign players. As of now, the Indian government has banned entry of people from specific countries and regions till March 31.
