NE SPORTS BUREAU
MUMBAI, MARCH 16
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its decision to shut its headquarters in Mumbai amid the COVID-19 outbreak on Monday.
The BCCI has asked its employees to work from home for the time being starting Tuesday. The BCCI had already postponed the start date of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 to April 15.
“The BCCI employees were today notified that the headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium will be shut down in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. All the staffers have been told to work from home,” a top source from the Board said.
IPL 2020 future hangs in balance
From cricket to football, all sporting federations have cancelled their upcoming events in wake of the coronavirus threat that has claimed hundreds of lives so far across the globe. While some of the matches were played behind closed doors, it was considered too risky for even players to be out in the current scenario.
The BCCI had last Friday suspended the IPL following government-imposed travel restrictions and refusal by three states to host any matches owing to the pandemic that has so far claimed more than 6,000 lives globally while infecting over 1,60,000 people.
In a statement, the BCCI said that it was 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. “The BCCI will work closely with the Government of India along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and all other relevant central and state government departments in this regard,” Jay Shah, secretary, BCCI, said in a statement.
