CHENNAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) isn't ruling out the possibility of hosting the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates if the Covid-19 situation at home doesn't improve by March. But BCCI's priority is to host the event at home. The number of cities/venues, however, will be restricted to four.
The IPL's Governing Council, headed by Brijesh Patel, met virtually on Monday to chalk out a plan for this year's edition. Like the last edition, held from September 19 to November 10, the BCCI wants to create a bio-secure bubble and would like to restrict the number of venues to cut down operational costs.
International cricket will resume in India next month with the arrival of the England team for a full-fledged tour that includes four Tests, three T20Is, and as many ODIs. But because of the Covid-19 situation, the BCCI has restricted the number of venues to three — Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
Having pulled off a successful IPL in the UAE, the board feels it can successfully conduct the IPL at home if the England series goes ahead without any hassle. "We have not decided on any venues as yet. We just had our first meeting.
Dates for trading window and auction too will be decided soon," IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel said.
That the BCCI is ready to wait till March to decide on the venue isn't surprising as it already has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Emirates Cricket Board to host the next edition of the IPL. Having shifted last edition's tournament at a short notice, the BCCI believes going back to UAE will not be a problem.
What made the job easy in the UAE was the three venues. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah were in close proximity and there was no air travel involved. The BCCI wants to do the same in India. In that sense, Mumbai becomes a possible venue as it has three stadiums — Wankhede, Brabourne, and DY Patil, and even Pune isn't far off. The play-offs can always be moved to a different city. Even the franchises are keen to keep the tournament in India as it would help them cut down the expenses.