Kolkata: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering to shorten the upcoming season of Indian Premier League in the wake of coronavirus scare, according to a report. There are also speculations doing rounds that the IPL 2020 can be delayed to ensure the participation of overseas players in the cash-rich league.
It has been learned that the IPL franchises are hoping to get foreign stars to participate in the cash-rich league by pushing the start of the tournament to April, as they believe coronavirus threat would be subsided by then.
Shortening IPL is another option. A shorter IPL means -- round-robin format will be scrapped and all the eight teams will be divided into two groups. The shortened format of IPL will be identical to just concluded Women's T20 World Cup, which Australia won by defeating India.
Meanwhile, BCCI has decided to invite all franchises for IPL's governing council meeting to decide the future of domestic T20 league.
The meeting is set to be held on Saturday, March 14 where the decision will be taken.
When asked whether franchises have been invited, sources within the BCCI said: "Yes, we have invited them for the meeting".
The Central government has suspended all visas to India till April 15 as part of measures to contain the spread of the pandemic which has put IPL's scheduling in doubt.
The Sports Ministry has also asked all National Sports Federations (NSFs), including the BCCI to follow the Health Ministry's guidelines.
As per the guidelines issued, it has been asked to avoid large public gatherings.
Due to the visa regulation, sources within the IPL's governing council said that the foreign players would not be available for the tournament.
"Yes, foreign players will not be available. We will discuss this and other issues at our governing council meeting scheduled for March 14," a source in IPL governing council had told a news agency.
The 13th edition of IPL is scheduled to commence from March 29, with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings meeting at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai for the first match.
On Thursday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the IPL should happen behind closed doors or it should be postponed.
World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concern.
The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.
More than 127,000 people have been infected with COVID-19, with over 4,700 having died and 68,000 recovered.
