The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) is planning to move the IPL 2020 season to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the website InsideSport, The Indian cricket board is also in talks with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to explore a possible 4-6 weeks training camp for the Indian cricketers in the UAE.
With the coronavirus situation in country getting more serious by the day it is clear that the BCCI is now only thinking of hosting IPL outside India. Unless the situation improves dramatically in India, which is looking unlikely at this stage Indian Cricket bandwagon is all set to move to UAE.
According to sources in India if all goes well with the plans, not only will the Indian cricketers train in the UAE, they will also stay on there to play the IPL 2020. Once the league season ends, those selected to play for India will fly directly to Australia from Dubai.
Once the T20 World Cup gets officially cancelled, which now seems likely, BCCI will announce the IPL 2020 in the UAE and a likely plan will be:
- The top 30-35 Indian cricketers will train in Dubai for a couple of weeks.
- The camp for the Indian cricketers will be hosted from 3rd week of August to middle of September in Dubai.
- Once the camp is over, players instead of coming back to India will move in with their respective franchises in the same city
- If all goes well, IPL 2020 is likely to be hosted in UAE from September 26th to November 8th
- The Indian team will depart for the tour of Australia directly from Dubai instead of coming back to India.
BCCI is yet to discuss the plan formally with the stakeholders including franchises and the broadcasters. The plan will be formally discussed after the BCCI’S APEX Council meeting on 17th July.
The plan will obviously backfire if the International Cricket Council (ICC) does not officially make an announcement on the T20 World Cup in Australia. BCCI and other stakeholders are waiting with baited breath.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
#Cricketnews #IPL2020 #UAE
