As the central government likely to extend the official 21-day lockdown imposed in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, it seems certain that the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) will now be postponed indefinitely.

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IPL 2020 was rescheduled from March 29 to April 15 last month due to growing Coronavirus cases as the BCCI was hoping that the situation would improve.

But with the pandemic continuing to rise in India and globally, it is unlikely the cash-rich tournament will be organised anytime soon.

As of April 12, the overall number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has crossed the 8000-mark with over 270 deaths reported in the country. Globally, the epidemic has claimed more than 108,800 lives and infected in excess of 1,780,700 people thus far.

“Three states Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka have already said that they are extending lockdown. It is implied that IPL can’t happen for the time being. But it will certainly not be cancelled. It will be postponed indefinitely,” a BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

“We can’t cancel IPL as it means losses to the tune of Rs 3000 crore. The BCCI will work with all stakeholders to find a solution but for that normalcy needs to return. It’s not possible for BCCI bigwigs to commit that IPL can happen at which particular slot,” he added.

As of now, there are two options – holding it in September and early October before the T20 World Cup in Australia or staging it at the expense of the T20 World Cup if the ICC, Cricket Australia and other stakeholders agree.

“There are lot of ifs and buts at the moment. You can only have a meaningful discussion when things normalise. Till then, nothing can be said,” the official said.

(With PTI inputs)