COVID19: IPL 2020 Postponed Indefinitely After PM Modi Extends Lockdown, Franchises Informed

Speaking to IANS, a BCCI functionary said that the current situation calls for an indefinite postponement and the franchises have been informed about the development and all are on the same page.

Photo: Twitter

New Delhi: The BCCI on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3 amid the COVID-19 pandemic threat gripping the entire nation. All the eight franchises have been informed about the decision, a BCCI functionary revealed to ANI.

Speaking to IANS, a BCCI functionary said that the current situation calls for an indefinite postponement and the franchises have been informed about the development and all are on the same page. "We have to fight the pandemic and there is no choice for now. These are extraordinary times. We can't talk about cricket and IPL at the moment so it has been indefinitely postponed and franchises have been informed about it," the BCCI functionary said.

Indian Premier League 2020 season has now been postponed indefinitely: BCCI Official pic.twitter.com/5kWlfHCh54

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2020

When contacted, two IPL franchises confirmed the development. "Yes, the BCCI has informed us and we also believe that there is no two ways about this that at present we cannot have an IPL. Let us hope for the best and hopefully we can have one later in the year when things return to normalcy," an official of one of the franchises told IANS. The IPL was originally scheduled to be held between March 29 and May 24, but was postponed initially till April 15 due to the coronavirus outbreak. It looks like, as of now the two options of having an IPL this year are organising it in September and early October before the World T20 in Australia or hosting it at the expense of the World T20 if the ICC, Cricket Australia and other stakeholders are all in agreement. The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had admitted earlier that the chances of the 2020 season of the cash-rich league starting any time soon was bleak.