BREAKING: IPL postponed to April over coronavirus scare

Amid huge speculations, the Indian Premier League has been postponed. The start of IPL 2020 has been pushed back to April 15 following the global concern over the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak. The decision to postpone the tournament, which was scheduled to start on March 29, was taken by the BCCI top brass lead by its president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah and top management of the IPL after advice given by various arms of the Indian government.

The IPL management sent the communication to all eight teams on Friday.

Many similar events across the world have been postponed, suspended or cancelled in recent times. This includes the NBA in USA, Italy's Serie A football League, European football leagues, professional tennis tournaments, golf, etc. Of course, some events, like the Road Safety World Series 2020 cricket tournament in Maharashtra, a few European football leagues in Spain, Portugal, Germany, F1 Racing in Australia are being staged behind closed doors.

The number of coronavirus cases in India has seen a drastic increase in the last weeks. As of today, the total number of people infected has grown to 77, with one succumbing to the virus. As the entire nation is taking safety measures to halt the spread of the COVID-19 outbreakWith the coronavirus being highly contagious and spread through contact, the government said sporting organisations would need to adhere to Health Ministry's guidelines to avoid mass gatherings.

More to follow…