IPL 2021 to resume in UAE; BCCI finalises September-October window for rest of the tournament
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday (May 29) confirmed that the remaining portion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will be held in the UAE.
The Indian board took the decision to conduct the remainder of the IPL 2021 in the Middle East in its virtual Special General Meeting (SGM) held in Mumbai.
Keeping in mind the coming monsoons in India, the BCCI has identified UAE as host and September-October as the right new window to hold the remaining 31 games of the IPL 2021.
The move to shift the IPL outside India was largely expected since BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s admission in a recent interview that it would be difficult to host any cricket in the country while it experiences the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IPL 2021 will resume in September-October in UAE.
IPL 2021 to resume in UAE; BCCI finalises September-October window for rest of the tournament
Ganguly’s comment had put the T20 World Cup also under threat, but it is being reported, the BCCI has sought more time from the ICC with regards to the plans to stage the marquee tournament in India.
The ICC was all set to decide upon the matter in its meeting on June 1. However, the governing body may now have to postpone a final call keeping in mind BCCI’s request. The BCCI is looking to explore all possibilities to be able to host the T20 World Cup in India. The tournament is scheduled to be held from October 18 and November 15.
Coming back to the IPL 2021, the BCCI had already had an informal agreement with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) in the UAE with regards to the hosting rights. The UAE had also hosted the last year’s edition of the IPL across venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
BCCI is expected to have multiple double-headers in the new window for the IPL 2021 between the end of India’s long Test summer in the UK and prior to the ICC T20 World Cup.
The IPL 2021 was postponed indefinitely on May 4 after just 29 games during the league stage as news of multiple COVID-19 positive cases inside different teams’ bubbles in Delhi and Ahmedabad did the rounds.
Having gone through the process of ensuring everyone’s safe departure back home, the BCCI will now have to revisit the SOPs for the rest of the tournament in UAE. The Indian board’s biggest headache will be the availability of foreign stars, a lot of whom have international commitments coinciding with the new IPL window.