The possibility of IPL 2020 being a severely restricted tournament - with at least some part of it being played to empty stands - in light of the coronavirus threat has increased following statements by two key ministries of the Indian government on Thursday.
While the sports ministry said it would not stop sporting events from taking place as long as they adhere strictly to governmental guidelines, discouraging mass gatherings, the external affairs (foreign) ministry went a step further and said their advice was to not go ahead with the tournament at this time, but left the decision to the organisers.
The IPL itself is yet to issue a statement on the tournament but its Governing Council is scheduled to meet franchises on March 14 in Mumbai.
The 13th edition of the tournament will likely feature nearly 60 overseas players, arriving from and through different parts of the globe that have been affected by the pandemic.
On Wednesday, shortly after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) a pandemic, the Indian government updated its travel advisory to increase visa restrictions for travel to India.
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