IPL may go ahead in UAE

New Delhi – The Indian Premier League (IPL) yesterday seized upon the postponement of the Twenty20 World Cup to propose holding its cash bonanza tournament in the United Arab Emirates from 5 September.

IPL chairman Brijesh Patel (above) said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was seeking government permission to finally stage the event after multiple hold-ups because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The board is confident it can assemble stars from around the world to line up for the eight IPL teams from late September to early November. The UAE would be hosting the IPL for the second time in six years.

“It will be held in the UAE but first the board will seek permission from the Indian government to stage it there,” Patel said.

He added that the exact dates would be decided by the IPL’s governing council next week. Media reports have predicted the IPL would run from 26 September to 7 November.

Patel would not say whether the games would be played behind closed doors. A final decision would rest with the UAE and Indian authorities.

The IPL is the BCCI’s main revenue earner. The Indian board has said it would lose more than $500 million if this year’s tournament does not go ahead.

The seven-week tournament, which normally plays to packed stadiums across the country of 1.3 billion people, is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy.

The BCCI had to wait until the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally postponed the World Cup on Monday before announcing its new plan.

The World Cup was to be held in Australia from October, ahead of a second tournament in India in 2021 to get the World Cup onto a new calendar cycle.

Under the new arrangements, either Australia or India will host the next T20 World Cup in October-November 2021, then the other nation will hold it in 2022.

The IPL has been held outside India twice before, in South Africa in 2009 when it clashed with national elections and part of it in the UAE in 2014. –