Cloud over IPL after Maharashtra minister raises Covid-19 fears

This year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 cricket tournament is in big ‘coronavirus’ trouble. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday indicated that the flagship BCCI event could be postponed. This could quickly lead to a cancellation if other states follow suit.

While Tope spoke of ‘discussion’ to explore the postponement, it effectively means cancellation of the upcoming 13th edition.

Reason: There is no window to accommodate the IPL tourney due to the packed international schedule of India and other countries.

This year’s IPL is slated to begin on March 29 in Mumbai with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

“There is always a danger of spread (of contagious diseases) when people gather in large numbers. Such events can always be organised later. So, discussion is on whether to postpone the IPL,” Tope told reporters in Nagpur on Saturday.

To minimise the coronavirus risk, closed-door matches without ticket sales have been proposed by key IPL stakeholders. However, IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel dismissed these as rumours when quizzed by DH.