BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said, “there was no choice” left after the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) had to postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in India. Ganguly, who had earlier mentioned that the BCCI has convinced all the eight franchise involved in the IPL to go ahead with the Twenty20 tournament as per scheduled time, also said that the first priority of the Indian cricket board has always been “safety.” Season 13 of the IPL, which was scheduled to start on March 29, 2020, was postponed to April 20 in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and its growing impact in the country. IPL 2020 Suspended Till April 15 Due to Coronavirus Outbreak, New Schedule and Dates To Be Announced, Says BCCI.

“Let's stick to the postponement at the moment. We'll see. It is too early to comment anything now,” said Ganguly in his first media appearance since the postponement of the cash-rich T20 league which had come under the scanner after the board’s reluctance to reschedule or suspend the upcoming season. “Our priority is safety so we postponed the game,” added the BCCI chief when asked about the Board’s sudden decision to push the start of IPL 2020 by at least three weeks after refusing to reschedule it earlier. IPL 2020 Suspended by BCCI Amid Coronavirus Fears, Here's How Twitterati Reacted to The Major Announcement.

Ganguly was also asked about the reaction of the franchise teams on learning that IPL 2020 has been postponed and is also under threat of being called off for the year. “Nobody has a choice. Even the board does not have a choice,” said Ganguly. The franchise owners are expected to meet BCCI before the start of the IPL Governing Council meeting.

Meanwhile, reports also claimed that IPL 2020 will go as per schedule but only with a later start date. A senior BCCI official was reported to have said that the IPL window, despite the late start, will remain the same for this year. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) situation.”

“The BCCI is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience,” the cricket board had said in an official statement hours after Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia informed that no sporting event, including IPL, will be allowed to take place with spectators.

The postponement of the IPL was also followed by the cancellation of the India vs South Africa three-match ODI series, with two games still left to play. The matches in Lucknow and Kolkata was earlier supposed to take place behind closed doors but the series was later suspended with BCCI also informing that the remainder of the series will take place at a rescheduled date.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2020 09:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).