New Delhi: With the BCCI postponing the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to April 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak, all eyes will be on the IPL Governing council meeting which is slated to take place in Mumbai later in the day.


The delayed start to the cash-rich T20 league would have brought about a lot of questions in the minds of the organisers, sponsors and the franchisee owners as to how will the tournament pan out given the challenges posed by the pandemic, which has led to the cancellation or rescheduling of many sports events both at the national and international level. The hazy picture around a lot of issues would be cleared later in the day when the organising body and the franchisee owners sit over the table to find a middle ground to suit everyone's interest.

Here is a look at what are the key points that can be taken up for discussion in the IPL Governing Council Meet

The franchise teams are not yet sure if at all the IPL starts on April 15, then how the foreign cricketers will come to India ahead of that and practice with their Indian team mates. Practice session ahead of the start of the tournament is not only important for the cricketers to acclimatize themselves with the conditions but also the franchise teams will get go know about their form and level of fitness before they can decide which four foreign players will eventually play in the playing eleven .

Thus, the franchise teams are still worried on this and will be looking forward to know more about this issue in the Governing Council meeting . BCCI officials might seek the contract papers from the franchise teams of the foreign recruits to know whether they can at all apply for project visas kind of options , as per a source in the board .

Few state governments or state administrations are not inclined on the hosting of IPL yet and as a result the franchise teams might face difficulties in hosting home matches. They will seek clarity on this from the BCCI .

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has told ABP News that they will try their best to keep the number of matches same if the start is on April 16. But if it is further delayed what will be the next course of action that could also be discussed . Even the discussion will be on whether IPL can be curtailed if needed .

Board officials will also call the officials of the host broadcaster and other vendors in order to synchronize things with all franchise teams in the changed scenario .