In what might bring a smile to the faces of thousands of cricket fans in the country, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) is mulling holding the remaining season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of the T20I World Cup.
Here it is noteworthy to mention that the 13th edition of the IPL was also organised in the UAE from October to November due to the COVID-19 crisis in India.
According to a report by The Times of India, the BCCI is planning to hold phase 2 of IPL in September and October this year. The report, quoting sources, claimed that a final announcement will be made on May 29 after the special general meeting.
The report claimed that the BCCI will request England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to reduce the “extra gap” between the five-match Test series to accommodate the remainder of the IPL. However, it said that even if ECB doesn’t agree to changes, the BCCI will have 30 days to hold the remaining 31 games of the season.
“This window has four weekends available, which means a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers, that can accommodate 16 matches. That will leave the BCCI with 11 matches to be held in 19 days. That’s a week extra,” The Times of India quoted sources as saying.
This year’s IPL was suspended after several COVID-19 cases were reported in bio-bubbles. Later, BCCI officials had said that the board is trying to accommodate the rest of the game of the cash-rich league.
However, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had confirmed that the remaining games won’t be held in India, saying it is difficult to maintain the bio-bubbles in the country.
“We would have completed the IPL. The players were in the bubble and there were no crowds at the venues. Players were not getting infected. Once the players got affected, we called it off,” Ganguly had said.
