Former legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India decision to defer the upcoming Indian Premier League 2020.
The tournament was originally slated to begin from March 29 but it was postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19, novel coronavirus.
It was initially reported that the competition will take place behind closed doors. However, after the advisory issued by the Government of India, which stated that any sporting events in the country should be avoided, the Indian board took the right decision to adopt a wait and watch approach.
Gavaskar praised the BCCI for understanding the current scenario. The safety of the people is of utmost importance at this moment and the Indian board had put the same ahead of the monetary losses.
The decision by the BCCI to suspend the IPL till April 15 is a laudable one. The health and safety of a nation are more important than sport and it’s wonderful that the usually much-maligned BCCI has put that before anything else, Gavaskar wrote in Sportstar.
On the other hand, the Indian government has also put a fresh restriction on the foreign visas till April 15 and thus overseas players cannot travel to India. Ergo, it is expected if the IPL does happen, there will be a delay in its eventual start.
Every IPL team can accommodate four foreign players in their final XI and they play an instrumental role in the balance of the side. Thus, there is no doubt that the overseas players add a cherry on the top of the cake in the IPL.
Whether the IPL will be played at all depends on how quickly the spread of COVID-19 is controlled. Till April 15 overseas players won’t get a visa so it may take a bit longer for the tournament to take off. Foreign players bring a different flavour to the tournament and add to the excitement, so it’s important to have them, he said.
The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League is under the clouds and it would be interesting to note how things pan out in the coming days. If the situation gets controlled or if it improves, then we might witness the 13th season of the IPL.
So far, more than 270 cases have been reported in India and four people have lost their lives to the deadly virus, which has put everything on hold.
Written by: Gautam Chauhan
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