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Sourav Ganguly hints IPL could be cancelled as India enters coronavirus lockdown

The downbeat boss of Indian cricket said on Tuesday he had no answers or ideas on the 2020 tournament.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly admits he has no idea what will happen with this year’s IPL

The IPL was due to begin on March 29 but that was postponed until April 15 amid the coronavirus crisis.

A conference call with all eight franchise owners was due to take place on Tuesday, but that was called off after more developments in India.

The nation of 1.3 billion people was placed on lockdown for 21 days as it battles to deal with the killer bug.

India has so far reported 529 cases of coronavirus with 10 deaths, but prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday ordered a complete lockdown of the nation.

And that has thrown the glamorous Indian Premier League into further doubt.

One option that had been reported in India was that the tournament could be delayed and played later in the summer.

But, in an exclusive interview with Press Trust of India, Ganguly admitted he was powerless in the current situation.

The former India batsman said: “I can’t say anything at the moment. We are at the same place where we were on the day we postponed. Nothing has changed in the last 10 days.

“You can’t plan anything. The Future Tours Programme is scheduled. It’s there and you can’t change the FTP. All around the world, cricket and more so sports has stopped.

The IPL brings together the best players in world cricket and normally lasts about seven weeks

“We will have to see. We have not assessed all these things. At this point of time, it is very difficult for me to give any concrete answer.”

The IPL is cricket’s richest domestic tournament and was due to begin on March 29 with the final set for May 24.

Mumbai Indians won last year’s competition after beating Chennai Super Kings by one run in a dramatic final.