Coronavirus Scare: No Foreign Player In IPL Till April 15

New Delhi: In view of the visa restrictions imposed by the Central government to contain the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), no foreign player will be available for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) till April 15, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

“The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government’s directive, they can’t come till April 15,” news agency PTI quoted an unnamed BCCI source as saying.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event’s Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. “All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai,” the source said.

In a related development, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to accord urgent hearing to a petition seeking postponement of the IPL amid the coronavirus scare.

The petitioner, advocate Mohan Babu Agarwal, told the court that IPL-2020 is scheduled to start from March 29, but no safety measures have been declared to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the matches.

However, a vacation bench of Justices UU Lalit and Aniruddha Bose told the petitioner that he could mention the matter for urgent listing before the regular bench on March 16 when the apex court will re-open after the Holi break.

“This is not a matter which cannot wait till re-opening of the court. You can mention it before the regular court on March 16,” the bench said.