A day before the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that media would not be allowed in the cricket stadium due to strict health safety protocols in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The order came after BBCI issued match coverage guidelines on Friday (September 19). The guidelines also stated that there will be no press conference held before the match and a virtual media conference will be held after all matches. However, it as allowed the media registrations for UAE media only.
In a statement, BCCI said, ''The Dream 11 Indian Premier League 2020 is being held in a closed stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Given the health and safety protocol, media personnel will not be allowed inside the stadium to cover the match or to cover the team’s practice session.''
The BCCI said that it understands the level of interest in the league and that is why the arrangement for the virtual press conference after every match is made mandatory. However, journalists registered with the BCCI will continue to receive press releases and regular updates before and after each match.
These press releases will contain information about the process of joining a virtual press conference after the match and sending questions to team representatives during match days. The BCCI will also provide 35 photographs each match to these recognized media and will remain so throughout the tournament.
According to the release, 'the photo should be used for editorial purposes only and credit has to be given to BCCI / IPL on each platform'.
The 2020 IPL is slated to take place from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE. The IPL was to originally begin from March 29, but its postponement due to Covid pandemic came as a jolt to many gamblers.
