The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is likely to be played in the United Arab Emirates during the October-November window if the Indian government gives clearance and the International Cricket Council (ICC) postpones the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place during the same time.
The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to be played from March 29 this year, was earlier postponed to April 15 before it was suspended indefinitely due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report by the Indian Express, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided the course of action in the Apex Council Meeting – chaired by president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah – on Friday.
Reportedly, the richest cricket board in the world will wait till ICC announces the postponement of the T20 World Cup. Following which the BCCI will approach the Indian government to seek permission to host the IPL in the country.
However, given the pandemic situation in the country – where the COVID-19 curve looks far from flattening and is, instead, witnessing a sharp spike due to the record-breaking number of new cases every day – the government is unlikely to allow a mass frenzy tournament like the IPL.
As per the reports, the BCCI will then shift the cash-rich T20 tournament to the UAE which is the only Asian country to have hosted the competition before.
Other than the UAE, Sri Lanka had also expressed desire to host the tournament. But news agency PTI had confirmed that the Arab country was the frontrunner among the BCCI decision-makers due to its prior experience of staging a major phase of IPL during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, the ICC is likely to discuss the fate of the T20 World Cup in its next board meeting this month. The future of the tournament, which has been under the scanner since the outbreak of the pandemic, is dated to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15.