Mumbai, Mar 14 (IANS): The 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be a truncated affair, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly said on Saturday. The season was due to start on March 29 but has since been deferred to April 15 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and around the world.

"If it happens, it has to be truncated because if it starts on April 15, then anyway 15 days are gone. How truncated, how many games, I can't tell at the moment," he told reporters after meeting officials from IPL franchises.

Ganguly said that even a call on whether to play the matches behind closed doors can be considered only after April 15 and that it is "too premature" to consider back-up plans in case the season cannot be held even after that date. "Allow us a week and then we will figure out how things go around in the world and decide," he said. "We will reassess the situation every week. We will (coordinate) with the (authorities) and work around."

Ganguly said that the board has not yet set any cut-off date to host the tournament. "We can't say that at the moment. As much as we want the IPL to happen, we are also careful about the security of the people," he said.

84 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the country thus far and two deaths. The outbreak, coupled with the global crisis it has caused, has brought the sporting calendar in the country and around the world to a virtual standstill.