Published 11:32 IST, April 16th 2020
BCCI official clarifies IPL 'shelved for time being & not indefinitely postponed': Report
The BCCI is not focusing on holding the IPL anymore but only on ensuring the safety of all stakeholders. The IPL may end up happening later in the year.
After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the India lockdown till May 3, it became evident that the chances of the IPL happening are very slim. Soon enough, ANI reported that a BCCI official had confirmed that IPL 2020 has been indefinitely postponed. The league was originally slated to start on March 29 and was later suspended till April 15.
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IPL 2020 postponed news: IPL shelved for now, not indefinitely postponed
A BCCI official talked to the Times of India on Wednesday and further clarified the confusion relating to the IPL 2020 postponed news. The BCCI official said that "indefinite postponement" of IPL 2020 can not literally be "indefinite" as the next edition of the IPL will happen in April next year. A more accurate way to understand the current status of the IPL is that the BCCI has shelved the tournament as it is missing the window of April-May 2020 that it needed to make in order to be held.
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The IPL is not in the conversation for the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI anymore. The official clarified that a Plan B to make the IPL happen in the T20 World Cup's time frame may be put into place. But talks for this Plan B will only begin once the coronavirus pandemic has been mitigated and safety becomes a guarantee again. The BCCI official urged the focus to be on 'Plan A' for now, which was following the government's guidelines and obeying the norms of social distancing.
IPL 2020 postponed
The BCCI was said to have the IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely. The Sourav Ganguly-led body took the call in view of public safety. There were initially reports about the IPL happening in May if things went well but India is already past the 12000-mark in coronavirus cases and safety is the first priority of the moment. The India lockdown has been extended till at least May 3 and the lifting of restrictions will highly depend on how the virus infection progresses in the country.
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Updated 11:32 IST, April 16th 2020