Indian sports minister says government to decide fate of IPL, not BCCI

The Indian government will have the final say over whether this year's Indian Premier League will be allowed to go ahead this year, says the country's sports minister, with the final decision based on how effectively the coronavirus has been contained.

Sports minister Kiren Rijiju said the IPL would be given the green light only if there was no risk to public health, and that the final decision rests with the Indian government, not the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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"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 the India Today television channel.

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

The BCCI had said it would consider staging the lucrative IPL in October/November if the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia during those months, was postponed or cancelled.

The IPL is worth almost $530 million (Dh1.946 billion) to the BCCI, the world's richest cricket board, and attracts the best international and Indian cricketers. It was scheduled to start at the end of March but was indefinitely postponed because of the pandemic.

India has reported 132,775 infections from the new coronavirus, with 3,899 deaths.

The IPL brand value was estimated at $6.7bn last year by the Duff and Phelps financial consultancy.

Indian broadcaster Star Sports paid more than $220 million for five years of TV rights up to 2022.

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