Amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in many countries including India, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has informed that the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) is still very much 'on' with the country's cricket board taking all the necessary precautions for the smooth conduct of the tournament.
"It's on…and BCCI will take all protection (against coronavirus)," ESPNcricinfo quoted Ganguly as saying.
The former Indian cricketer's response came when quizzed as to how the BCCI is dealing with coronavirus outbreak that is threatening to bring daily life to a standstill.
Meanwhile, a senior BCCI official confirmed that the country's cricket board would replicate the precautionary guidelines and updates put out by the Health Ministry on coronavirus besides also sending the same to all the players, franchises, stakeholders, airlines, team hotels, broadcast crews and everyone else involved in running the IPL.
It is believed that the BCCI might also ask the players to avoid physical contact as much as possible including hand shake with fans.
Earlier on Friday, a fresh case of coronavirus was reported in the national capital, taking the total number of cases to 31 in India.
After the outbreak of the deadly virus reached India, first three cases were reported from Kerala, the other case was from Delhi and Hyderabad, six from Agra and 17 people from Jaipur (a group of 16 Italians and 1 Indian).
In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, a number of sporting events including the Tokyo Olympics slated to be played in July-August later this year have come under threat.
Meanwhile, many other sports tournaments have been either canceled or postponed. Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had announced that the second series of the Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League A set to begin on March 16 in Malaysia has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, while players in England`s Premier League have been ordered to forgo the traditional pre-game handshake as a measure to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus has also forced the postponement of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Badminton Olympic qualifier while Chinese Grand Prix was also called off recently.
