Hyderabad: A plea has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the central government not to allow the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) conduct Indian Premier League T20 cricket matches from March 29-May 24 due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
The PIL, filed by advocate G Alex Benziger, is likely to come up before a division bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Krishnan Ramaswamy on March 12.
"As on date, as per the website of the World Health Organisation, there was no specific medicine or to prevent or to treat the COVID-19," the petitioner said.
Chennai Super Kings are scheduled to play their first match in Chennai on April 2 when they will take on Rajasthan Royals at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
On Tuesday, the Karnataka government has sought the avice of Centre on hosting IPL matches in Bengaluru. So far four people tested positive in Karnataka for Coronavirus.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is scheduled to play their first home match, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, on March 31. RCB is set to play a total of seven home matches at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, extending till May 17.
Karnataka medical education minister K. Sudhakar said, "I have written to the Centre saying there are IPL matches scheduled to be held in Karnataka, and that Maharashtra has already taken a decision in this regard. We have asked for the Centre's guidance on what action we should take.”
Meanwhile, it was also learnt that Mumbai's Marine Drive Residents Action Group (MDRAG) wrote to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Police on Saturday requesting cancellation of the league to prevent the spread of the virus.
However, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is adamant on the issue and has even said that the IPL will take place as per the schedule. He also said that all measures will be in place to tackle the fast spreading virus which has wreaked havoc on sporting calendars globally.
Ganguly said, “IPL is very much on. Everywhere, the tournaments are going on. England are already in Sri Lanka. South Africa are here. There are no issues.
“County teams are travelling all over the world. They are travelling to Abu Dhabi, UAE to play. So there is no problem,” he added.
On being asked about the measures they will take during the tournament, Ganguly said, “We will take all precautions. I don’t know exactly what are the extra measures. It’s only medical team which will tell us about that."
“The medical team is already in touch with the hospitals so that everything is available. We will do what the doctors say. They are the professionals. All medical issues will be addressed by the medical team. Every tournament will go on,” he added.
