Government will take a status call on hosting IPL, reveals Kiren Rijiju

It is a difficult time in the world right now due to the COVID-19 situation, which has not only affected the sporting world, but has also cast doubt on when it can resume again. In such a situation, the Government of India has only ordered open sporting complexes and stadiums for training purposes but sporting activities continue to be barred. The Indian Premier League is the biggest high-profile event to have been postponed but for it to go ahead, the central government will have a final say. 

"In India, the government has to take a call and it will take a call depending on the situation. We cannot put health at risk just because we want to have a sporting event. Our focus is fighting Covid-19 and at the same time we will have to work a mechanism to get back to normalcy. It is difficult to confirm dates but I am sure we will have some kind of sporting events this year," Rijiju was quoted as saying by India Today.

"We have been working for quite some time now to resume sporting activities but before that we have to think about practice and training. We are not going to have a tournament kind of situation immediately. We have to learn to live with the situation where sporting events will have to be carried forward without spectators in stadiums and sports venues," he added.

However, Rijiju has clarified that the state government guidelines will also play an important role in bringing live sports back to the fore again, but he added that there should not be any activities till the lockdown is there - or till the government comes up with a renewed kind of advice.

"We have been clearly advising that health and safety are top priorities. Besides that we have to keep in mind two other things, one is the guidelines issued by the Home Ministry, second, is the guidelines issued by the administrations of the respective localities or states. So, these are to be taken into account. But we have clearly stated that sports complexes and stadiums are open, other than that there should not be any activities till the lockdown is there or we come up with a renewed kind of advice."