Melbourne, In wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Cricket Australia on Thursday announced that it will furlough the majority of its staff on reduced pay for the remainder of the financial year to cope up with the challenges posed by the pandemic.

"We have made the decision during this period of isolation, where activity has naturally been reduced, to stand down our people on reduced pay (with the exception of a skeleton staff) effective 27 April for the remainder of the financial year," Cricket Australia said in a statement.

"We will continue to seek advice from medical experts and relevant government agencies to ensure the health and safety of our people, volunteers and communities, and to return to business as soon as possible," it added.

The 2020 edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) has already been postponed indefinitely while there are clouds as well over the men's T20 World Cup slated to be played in Australia later in the year.

"Cricket Australia -- like all sporting bodies -- is planning for a return to training/play although no one is certain when this will be possible at this stage, and many scenarios are being considered," said the Australian cricket board.

"We are conscious of the impact this will have on Australian Cricket and are working hard to manage that proactively."

In March, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) had also decided to lay off 70 per cent of its staff due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.3 lakh lives across the world.