Coronavirus outbreak: Don’t conduct IPL 2020, advises Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is against the conducting of IPL 2020 due to coronavirus outbreak in the country. However, final decision will be taken by BCCI

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today (March 12) advised against conducting the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to coronavirus outbreak in the country.

MEA, during a press briefing on Wednesday, said the final decision to hold the IPL or not will be left to the organisers (Board of Control for Cricket in India).

The IPL Governing Council (GC) will meet on Saturday (March 14) to take a decision on hosting IPL 13 matches. As per the original schedule, IPL will start on March 29 in Mumbai with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) facing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede Stadium.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too took to the micro-blogging website Twitter to speak about coronavirus. He advised Indians to avoid large gatherings. "The Government is fully vigilant about the situation due to COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus . Across ministries & states, multiple steps have been proactively taken to ensure safety of all. These steps are wide-ranging, from suspension of Visas to augmenting healthcare capacities," PM Modi tweeted.

In another tweet, he wrote, "Say No to Panic, Say Yes to Precautions. No Minister of the Central Government will travel abroad in the upcoming days. I urge our countrymen to also avoid non-essential travel. We can break the chain of spread and ensure safety of all by avoiding large gatherings."