Reports: David Warner's visa gets rejected ahead of IPL 2020

Sunrisers Hyderabad might be without their talismanic captain David Warner for the initial phase of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). The thirteenth edition of the tournament is scheduled to get underway on March 29 with Mumbai Indians taking on Chennai Super Kings in the first game of IPL 2020.

According to media reports, Warner’s visa has been cancelled by the Indian government. However, it has not been yet confirmed if the reason behind the rejection is the government’s coronavirus visa restrictions. On Wednesday, the Indian government imposed the restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has decided that all existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organisations, employment and project visas, stand suspended till April 15. Media reports suggest that the IPL teams would not be allowed to avail the services of their overseas players at least till April 15. Amidst all these, reports have emerged Warner’s visa has been rejected although the reason behind it is not known yet.

BREAKING NOW: DAVID WARNER'S VISA APPLICATION HAS BEEN REJECTED.

Not confirmed if it's a technical reason or because of the #Coronavirus threat. #IPL #BCCI #CoronaAlert @davidwarner31 @SunRisers

— KSR (@KShriniwasRao) March 12, 2020

Warner is the batting mainstay of Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2016, he scored more than 800 runs when he helped the Hyderabad-based franchise win their first and so far only IPL title. In 2017, he led the Sunrisers to the playoffs before missing the 2018 season due to the ball-tampering scandal. Last year, he finished the IPL as the highest run-scorer and helped the team to make it to the playoffs under the captaincy of Kane Williamson. But ahead of the upcoming season, the Sunrisers re-appointed him as the captain of the side.

IPL is in jeopardy because of Coronavirus threat

There are apprehensions over IPL too amidst the coronavirus outbreak. As of now, there is little clarity over whether the league would go ahead as scheduled. Several reports suggest that the league might take place behind closed doors while some reports suggest that it could also be postponed. A clearer picture will emerge later this week after the meeting of the IPL governing council on Saturday.

The pandemic has already started taking a toll on cricket. Recently, the Asia XI-World XI series was postponed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board while the Road Safety World Series was called off on Thursday.