IPL in further doubt as India enforces 21-day lockdown

BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly remains calm despite the confinement lasting until the day before the rescheduled start of the competition

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Hopes the Indian Premier League could yet be staged amid the coronavirus outbreak have suffered another blow after the Indian government enforced a three-week lockdown in an attempt to contain the virus.

The period of containment will run until April 14 - the day before the rescheduled start date of the competition.

BCCI officials have conceded that the tournament is unlikely to be held in 2020 if it does not get underway before early May due to the busy international schedule.

While hundreds of sporting events across the world due to take place over the coming weeks and months have been either cancelled or postponed, the IPL remains in the calendar.

Speaking before confirmation of the lockdown for the entire 1.3 billion population, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said the prospect of the competition taking place had not changed.

BCCI remain hopeful IPL will go ahead and are reassessing situation every week

“I can’t say anything at the moment," he said. "We are at the same place where we were on the day we postponed. Nothing has changed in the last 10 days.

“You can’t plan anything. The Future Tours Programme is scheduled. It’s there and you can’t change the FTP. All around the world, cricket and more so sports has stopped.

"We will have to see. We have not assessed all these things. At this point of time, it is very difficult for me to give any concrete answer."

At the time of writing India has 562 confirmed cases of the disease, with 10 people having died.

A meeting between Ganguly and representatives of the eight franchises was set to take place on Tuesday but was shelved and is not due to be rescheduled.

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