The IPL Governing Council will be meeting on Saturday, March 14 to discuss the coronavirus threat, weeks ahead of the tournament.

IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said that a decision will soon be taken soon and that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is monitoring the situation in India.

"We are monitoring the situation for now and will have an update once a decision is taken," Patel was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

A BCCI source told Zee Media that no foreign player will be available for IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government in wake of coronavirus outbreak.

As a control measure, India cancelled all visas, except for a few official categories, till April 15. Even outgoing travel is being cautioned against and a minimum of 14 days` quarantine will be mandatory.

In an official statement said all existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organisations, employment, and project visas stand suspended till April 15. This will come into effect from 1200 GMT on March 13 at the port of departure.

Earlier on Wednesday (March 11), the Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said that the IPL should either happen behind closed doors or should be postponed.

The statement came after the confirmation of 10 positive cases of coronavirus in Maharashtra. He further added that the final decision will be taken in the Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday.

"In the current situation, it is not possible to schedule the IPL match in a packed stadium. We want it to happen in closed doors or postpone it later. The final decision will be taken in the assembly session tomorrow. We all are of the view that IPL should not take place at this time. It is very dangerous to conduct the IPL in this situation," Tope told the media.

The 13th season of the cash-rich T20 tournament is scheduled to start from March 29 with the opener between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

As for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly, on March 6 he had said that 2020 IPL is still very much 'on' and the country's cricket board is taking all the necessary precautions.

"It's on…and BCCI will take all protection (against coronavirus)," ESPNcricinfo quoted Ganguly as saying.