UAE confirms move to host IPL after sports ministry clears way

nMUMBAI: The Emirates Cricket Board acknowledged receiving a letter of intent from BCCI to host IPL in the UAE. “We have received the letter and now wait on the decision from the India Govt,” said Mubashshir Usmani, secretary of the Emirates board.

Decks are also being cleared at the ministerial level in India. “BCCI’S request to hold IPL in the UAE has been approved by the sports ministry,” confirmed a source in the ministry. The proposal now has to get the green light from the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs.

UAE had, in May, written to BCCI offering to host IPL. BCCI, however, waited till mid-july to see if a closed-door IPL could be staged at home. But with the Covid-19 cases rising, BCCI declared its intentions to move the event overseas.

“The government has to take its own view. With rising Covid cases here, we have been given to understand it’s very difficult (to host IPL in India),” a top BCCI official said. BCCI, however, has made it clear ‘this is no 2009’.

When IPL was first moved overseas (to South Africa) in 2009 due to the general elections, it was against the wishes of the then Union government. This time, there is an admission from all parties that the health situation in the country is not conducive to stage a mega sporting event involving international players.

“We are waiting to see if commercial flights are available. Also, it’s not just a case of flying all Indian players to Dubai. Players and all other participants from other parts of the world also need to travel to Dubai,” he added.