With India’s COVID-19 situation getting worse conducting an event like IPL 2020 is nowhere near. And with BCCI President Saurav Gangly determined to get the tournament held this year it’s all but likely to move out of India. The BCCI president earlier wrote to state boards saying the IPL plans are in motion. Further, he hinted that the tournament can move out of India.
Now, as per reports from Cricket Addictor and Times Now UAE would be the venue for the high octane tournament. The tournament is expected to be played in the month of September this year. BCCI which wold be facing losses of around Rs. 4000 crores if the tournament doesn’t happen this year has put it as its top priority. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) which has hosted IPL in 2014 has started gearing up to host Indian Premier League and the Indian players for training camp. The ECB is awaiting a final nod from the BCCI as per reports. The tournament, however, would be played with closed doors that is no live audience would be there.
“The stadium has nine wickets on the top in case a large number of matches have to be accommodated within a smaller time-frame. We will not be scheduling any matches there to keep the wickets fresh“, said Dubai Sports City’s Head of Cricket and Events, Salman Hanif. However, the real challenge would be to ensure safety of the number of players and staff with 8 teams that come in. The England Cricket Board’s bio-secure environment for England vs West Indies’s ongoing series is an option but that’s limited to limited players and teams.
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Meanwhile, UAE so far has reported 56,129 COVID-19 cases with 10,281 of them being active and 335 deaths. The BCCI is expected to make a decision about the future of IPL and domestic season after the Apex Council meeting that is scheduled to take place today.
