IPL 2020 To Take Place in UAE
The BCCI is now planning to host the IPL in UAE between September-November.
IPL 2020 was scheduled to take place between March 29 and May 17 but the BCCI had to suspend the league indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The board, however, has made it clear that conducting the IPL this year is their topmost priority. Earlier, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said the board would have to incur a loss of around Rs. 4000 crore if IPL does not take place due to the pandemic. Ganguly had previously said that while hosting IPL in India remains the priority, the board would not hesitate to move the league outside the country if the situation does not improve. IPL franchise owners met earlier this week and they all agreed that they had no problem if the IPL is held overseas this year.
According to reports, the IPL will be held in UAE between September-November. Due to Coronavirus guidelines, matches in the UAE will be held in front of empty stadiums. A team owner said, “That’s not a problem. IPL is more made for TV. Even if we allowed people inside the stadium, we will not earn much through the sale of tickets as very few may attend the match.” UAE is the best venue for IPL as the stadiums in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are not far from each other and there is enough infrastructure available to accommodate players. IPL teams are expected to arrive in the UAE a month before the tournament starts.
Conducting IPL in UAE is nothing new for BCCI. In 2014, a part of the IPL was held in UAE due to general elections. In 2009, the entire competition was held in South Africa due to general elections
