IPL 2020: Fate of the tournament to be decided after April 15 according to Kiren Rijiju

The future of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League is to be decided after April 15th, as per Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. The Sports Ministry have reaffirmed that although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in charge of taking such decisions as it has to do with cricket, a tournament of this nature could directly impact the lives of people across the country.

A fresh advisory on the same is expected from the government after April 15 concerning the future of the 13th edition of the IPL amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Any future decision will have to be taken with the state of the outbreak at the time.

The Sports Minister said,

"After April 15 the government will come up with new advisory and guidelines according to the situation. BCCI is a body that looks after cricket which is not an Olympic sport. But here it is not the question of the sporting event alone but a question of the safety of the citizens. In an event there will be thousands of spectators. So it is not just for the sports bodies or sportspersons it is for every citizen of the country."

The IPL was initially scheduled to begin on March 29 but was postponed to April 15 due to the coronavirus outbreak. It has been reported that all possible outcomes are being considered, including a 'truncated' IPL as BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed a few days ago.

Playing games in empty stadiums is another possibility that is being considered to avoid large gatherings of masses. The necessary precautions are already underway and the Delhi government even went on to say that they will not encourage any IPL matches in the city until March 31.