The 13th Edition of IPL which was to be conducted in India from March of this year was suspended indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Further developments to the events and merry news to the fans comes as the prestigious T20 tournament may be played entirely in UAE between September 26 and November 7. Though, the decision is subjected to various conditions.
A final call will be taken by the BCCI only once the International Cricket Council (ICC) announces the likely postponement of the T20I World Cup which is slated to take place from October 18 and November 15 this year in Australia. The Council has decided to conduct a meeting on July 20 to discuss the fate of the World Cup.
It is also believed that the BCCI has requested the Indian Government to allow them to shift the tournament and also provide travel permission for the players and are awaiting a response from the government regarding the same.
"We are ready to Support the IPL entirely if it opts to come and play in the UAE. We will provide all the support regarding the protocol and permission from the government needed to host the IPL. We are awaiting written confirmation from the Secretary of BCCI's Mubashshir Usmani," ECB (Emirates Cricket Board).
Initially, BCCI wanted to conduct the tournament behind the doors in India itself choosing Mumbai as the venue, but the commercial capital has a rising number of COVID-19 cases and unfortunately tops the list for the most number of cases in India, thus an alternate has to be made by BCCI. If everything goes to plan. Then, this will be the second time the tournament will be conducted in UAE as few matches were held back in 2014 as General Elections were being held in India.
The League is expected to be played in the three main stadiums in UAE, namely- Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Dubai), Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium (Abu Dhabi), Sharjah Cricket Stadium (Sharjah).
As far as the Franchises are concerned they have been rearing up for the Tournament by charting flights and hotels and have also been in constant communication with the UAE Board on the Training programme and camp preparations. As a minimum of at least 6 weeks training will be required for the players after the long forced break. Adding to that the official also spoke about the Quarantine measures that have to be taken.
"You have to be strategic and prepare ahead of time. We got the necessary inputs and are planning accordingly. In fact, we have decided on the hotel we want to stay in Abu Dhabi and how exactly we are going to go through the process of flying in and going through the necessary quarantine once in UAE. Obviously we'll need to brush up with the country's then health guidelines-said the "official.
Cover Credits: InsideSport
