THIS year’s Indian Premier League has been postponed indefinitely following due to coronavirus, according to reports in India.
The star-studded Twenty20 tournament was scheduled to begin on March 29.
The eight-team league was initially suspended until Wednesday even as India entered a three-week lockdown last month.
After the lockdown was extended on Tuesday until at least May 3, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials held a teleconference before informing the franchises about a further delay.
Delhi Capitals chief executive Dheeraj Malhotra said: “Well, all we know is that it has been shifted indefinitely and BCCI are working on a window in the future.”
BCCI has yet to make an official announcement but the CEO of another franchise confirmed the decision.
An anonymous official revealed: “We have been informed about it being postponed indefinitely, but we’re still waiting for an email from the board with details.”
IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel did not answer calls from Reuters on Tuesday and Wednesday to elaborate on the league’s future plans.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had earlier acknowledged the difficulty in hosting the tournament amid lockdown with travel and other restrictions due to the global health crisis.
At the weekend, former India captain Sourav Ganguly said: “At the present moment, we cant say anything.
“Where will you get players from, where do players travel?
“It’s just simple common sense that at the moment nothing is in favour of any kind of sport anywhere in the world, forget IPL.”
Local media speculated on a possible window in September-October, before this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
The uncertainty around this year’s edition of the IPL is a big setback, particularly for the 62 cricketers bought for a collective £15million at the players’ auction in December.
Australian Pat Cummins became IPL’s most expensive overseas buy ever when the Kolkata Knight Riders paid a staggering £1.75m for the fast bowler in the auction in Kolkata.
