Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the BCCI has taken the right decision to suspend the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. "The decision by the BCCI to suspend the IPL till April 15 is a laudable one. The health and safety of a nation are more important than sport and it's wonderful that the usually much-maligned BCCI has put that before anything else," Gavaskar wrote in a column for The Sportstar. The BCCI, on March 11, earlier put the IPL on hold till April 15 even though the tournament was set to start from March 29 after the government issued a travel advisory which made it clear that foreign players wouldn't be issued visas to come into the country.

Gavaskar also said that the fate of the IPL depends upon how quickly the spread of Coronavirus is controlled in the country. "Whether the IPL will be played at all depends on how quickly the spread of COVID-19 is controlled. Till April 15 overseas players won't get a visa so it may take a bit longer for the tournament to take off. Foreign players bring a different flavour to the tournament and add to the excitement, so it's important to have them," he said.