IPL 2020 Update: Brijesh Patel Confirms Indian Premier League 13 Will Be Held in UAE, Claims Report
IPL 2020 was originally scheduled to begin in India on March 29 but the tournament had to be suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown. The BCCI had planned to stage it in India between September and November but the rapid increase in number of COVID-19 cases have made it impossible to host the tournament.
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played in UAE, confirmed IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel. With the ICC announcing the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 by a year, the decks were all cleared for a full-fledged IPL 2020 but the hosting country remained uncertain with Sri Lanka and UAE among two nations likely to host the glitz event. Patel had earlier confirmed that the IPL Governing Council, which he leads as its chairman, will meet in 10 days’ time to plan its next course of action and make final decisions on the full schedule, venue and match timings. IPL 2020 Update: It Will Be a Full-Fledged Tournament Most Likely in the UAE, Says Chairman Brijesh Patel.
But according to a latest report from ESPNcricinfo, Patel has confirmed that the cash-rich T20 franchise league will be held in UAE and that a formal announcement on the matter will be made after the Governing Council’s next meeting. According to reports, a tentative schedule of the IPL says that the tournament will begin on September 26 and end on November 8.
A report from Gulf News quoted Patel as saying on BCCI’s decision to pick UAE as the host country for IPL 2020. ‘The clincher for us was that the UAE have a great infrastructure there - from the venues to the practice facilities,” Patel told Gulf News. “There is a wide selection of hotels and most importantly, they know our expectations as they have hosted the event once in 2014.”
He also added that the IPL Governing Council in its next meeting will take formal permission from the Indian government to host the tournament abroad. “The governing council meeting is expected to take place within a week. There will be discussions on the scheduling of the tournament and we will also look at the operational aspect,” he added.
UAE cricket board, however, denied any heads up on the matter from BCCI but maintained that they will be ready and procure all necessary permissions and arrangement to stage the 13th edition of the IPL once an official communication is received from the BCCI.
Patel also told ESPNcricinfo that Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were locked as the three main for the tournament. He, however, refrained from confirming if matches will be played behind closed doors. The next GC meeting will certainly confirm all matters.
IPL 2020 was originally scheduled to begin in India on March 29 but the tournament had to be suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown. The BCCI had intended to stage the T20 league in India between September and November but the rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, India ranks third in worldwide toll with more than a million cases, have made it impossible to host the tournament in the country.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2020 06:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).