The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCCI) on Saturday met with the owners of eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises and decided to make the “safety and well-being of fans, athletes and employees” their top priority.
The meeting was held to address the concern regarding the massive outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus which forced BCCI to postpone the 13th edition of the IPL.
“The BCCI on Saturday met the Indian Premier League franchises owners at the Board headquarters here in Mumbai to discuss the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) outbreak and its impact on the upcoming season,” a statement on the official website of BCCI read.
“The BCCI along with all the IPL franchises have reiterated BCCI’s stand of putting safety and well-being of fans, athletes and employees as a priority,” the statement added.
COVID-19 has majorly affected the sporting arenas and as a result, major events such as the European football leagues, the ATP tours, the Formula One events, NBA in the United States of America and the cricket tournaments across the world have either been canceled or postponed.
BCCI followed the same footsteps and on Friday decided to postpone the IPL till April 15. Meanwhile, Saturday’s meeting also saw the officials figuring out a probable solution to conduct the IPL. And according to a PTI report, one of the solutions that came out of the meeting was to hold a “curtailed IPL”
“There were six to seven options discussed during the meeting between team owners and BCCI including a curtailed IPL,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying after the meeting.
Also, the official statement that has been released on the cricket governing body’s website, the BCCI and all the stakeholders have promised to commit themselves for “providing a safe and healthy environment for everyone involved in our great sport and the nation”.
The deadly COVID-19 has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,30,000 people and killing more than 5,400 people across the world. In India, two casualties have been reported so far, while the virus has already affected more than 80 people.