'It's obviously not looking likely at the moment' - Steve Smith admits fate of IPL 2020 is in trouble

The 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was supposed to commence on March 29 (today). But the outbreak of the Coronavirus has forced the BCCI to defer the start until April 15. However, the tournament’s fate is in trouble now with India under the lockdown until April 14. With no update from the stakeholders yet, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the IPL will go ahead this year and even Steve Smith feels the same.

Smith was supposed to lead the Rajasthan Royals this season. But like every other cricketer, he has been stuck at home amidst the pandemic and waiting for things to get better. Rather only a few weeks ago, he was part of Australia’s team which locked horns against New Zealand in the ODI series. However, the contest had to be postponed just after the first game which was played behind closed doors.

And since then, all international cricket affairs have been stalled. Steve Smith, meanwhile, spoke to Channel Nine television and opened up on the possibility of the IPL taking place at all this year. He pointed out that India is under lockdown at the moment and anyways the foreign nationals are not allowed in the country until April 15 too.

Trying to stay mentally fresh and physically fit, says Steve Smith

However, Steve Smith wants to stay fresh, fit and ready in case the IPL goes ahead. But the former Australia skipper feels, at the moment, it is highly unlikely that the T20 extravaganza will get underway this time around. ” think the country’s basically shut its borders until the 15th of April. It’s obviously not looking likely at the moment, I think there might be some meetings over the next couple of days to discuss what the go is with it all.

“But just trying to stay physically fit and mentally fresh,” he added. “If it goes ahead at some point, then great. If not, then there’s plenty going on in the world at the moment. Just play it day by day,” Smith said. Meanwhile, Australia are scheduled to tour Bangladesh for the one-off Test in June and then to England for the ODI series. But both these tours are in risk at the moment due to Coronavirus.