Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) postpones all domestic games amid COVID-19 fear

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to postpone all the domestic games till March 31st in the wake of the novel coronavirus spreading around the world. The Health Ministry advisory directed all the NSFs in the country, including the BCCI, to avoid large gatherings and asked them to conduct the event behind closed doors if it couldn't be avoided. The Indian Premier League has been suspended until April 15 and India's ongoing ODI series against South Africa has been postponed until further notice. The final day of the Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal  was played behind closed doors, owing to the fea of COVID-19. 

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MCA postpones all domestic games

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 IPL postponed

A statement was released on Friday afternoon which quoted BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and stated, "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing novel Coronavirus situation."

The BCCI is 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 cricket body 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.

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Coronavirus Outbreak

As of today, the total number of positive cases in India has risen up to 82 - Haryana-15, Telangana-1, Rajasthan-3, Andhra Pradesh - 1, Karnataka-5, Jammu-1, Ladakh-3, Maharashtra- 16, Tamil Nadu-1, Uttar Pradesh-10, Delhi-6, Punjab-1, Kerala-19 (out of which 3 recovered). Along with it, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively. First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel coronavirus has affected nearly 118 countries in the world. Presently, there are over 1,24,518 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 4,607 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its spread. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

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Image credits: PTI