Accordingly the under pressure BCCI on friday suspended the start of this year's IPL from march 29 to april 15 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused massive upheaval across the globe. bcci secretary Jay Shah said in a statement "The Board of Control for cricket in india (BCCI) has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th april 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel corona virus (COVID-19) situation".

This came hours after delhi government suspended all sporting activity in the national capital due to the ever-growing health crisis. The bcci statement made it clear that it's "suspension" and "not postponement" which means that there is no clarity on whether the event will start on april 15. Even if it starts on april 15, it is expected to happen behind closed doors without the fans.

So far, india has recorded more than 70 positive cases and one death due to the pandemic which has claimed close to 5,000 lives globally. The bcci will discuss all the modalities of this year's edition at the IPL Governing Council meeting in mumbai on Saturday. Shah stated "The bcci is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience". There is a possibility that the tournament will feature more double-headers than previously planned and at least five optional venues are being kept ready after state governments of maharashtra, karnataka and delhi refused permission for the games.

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