IPL 2020: No tickets sales in Mumbai as matches to take place in empty stadiums 

What's the story?

The Maharashtra government has allowed BCCI to organize IPL 2020 matches in the state but the ministry has only given permission on the condition that there will be no audience for the matches in stadiums. This step was taken in the wake of the widespread Coronavirus.

The background

Coronavirus has already impacted a lot of sports tournaments worldwide. While the virus has not yet reached many regions of India, the number of positive cases for COVID-19 is growing day by day in the country. There was a possibility that IPL 2020 would be canceled because of this, but the organizers have come up with a new solution to this problem.

The heart of the matter

As reported by Hindustan Times, the Maharashtra government discussed this issue in a meeting on Wednesday (11th March) and one of the ministers informed the sources that the IPL tournament will be allowed in the state only if there is no sale of tickets for the audience. Speaking to the sources on the condition of anonymity, a minister said:

"We want to take all sorts of precautions in the wake of Corona virus outbreak. We have decided that no large gathering will be allowed in the state for now and will also urge people to avoid them. The issue of IPL was discussed in the cabinet meeting as well and it was decided that IPL tournament will be allowed if there will be no sale of tickets for the audience."

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Another minister mentioned that the BCCI has no issues with this development as they will be able to balance the loss of revenue from ticket sales with the one generated from other sources like live telecast on TV, websites, and advertisements.

What's next?

It will be interesting to see how the franchises react to this decision because a major part of their revenue comes from ticket sales. Mumbai Indians have their base in Maharashtra and thus, the franchise officials may issue a statement soon.