'Focus is fighting COVID-19': Kiren Rijiju says Indian government will decide fate of IPL, not cricket board

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, however, fans and the cricket board are hoping that the cash-rich event could take place during the October/November window.

However, Indian sports minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said that any decision regarding the IPL to take place this year would be taken by the government and not by the Indian cricket board. He said it would be based on how well the country has contained the novel coronavirus.

Kiren Rijiju said, "In India, the government has to take a call and it will be depending on the situation of the pandemic, how we progress as a nation," Rijiju told India Today television channel.

"We can't put the health of the nation at risk just because we want sporting events to be held. Our focus is fighting COVID-19."

As for the BCCI, it said it would consider staging the lucrative IPL if the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia during October/November did not go ahead.

The IPL is worth almost $530 million to the BCCI and it attracts the best international and Indian cricketers. It was scheduled to start on March 29 but was postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic. 

As for India, it's fighting with the COVID-19 crisis continues as the country has reported 131,868 infections with 3,867 deaths.