IPL 2021: BCCI confirms plan to host remaining season from September-October in UAE

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for an indefinite time after hosting just 29 matches due to the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases among players and support staff across franchises in India.

It is speculated that in the Special General Meeting today, BCCI confirms plan for the widow to complete the remaining 31 matches of IPL 2021. After reports are to be confirmed, the Indian board can host the tournament after India’s England tour in the September-October window. Team India will be travelling to England in the first week of June for the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship against New Zealand followed by a five-match Test series against England.

BCCI has a plan ready to conduct IPL in UAE
The BCCI can also make a request to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to reduce the gap between the second and third Test from nine days to four days. Reducing the gap between the Test matches will give the BCCI some extra time to airlift the Indian and England players from the UK to UAE for the IPL. If not then within these 30 days, a full day will have to be set aside for the Indian team and the English cricketers to travel from the UK to the UAE, five days will have to be set aside for the knockouts later. That will leave the BCCI with 24 days to conclude 27 matches. This window has four weekends available, which means a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers, that can accommodate 16 matches. That will leave the BCCI with 11 matches to be held in 19 days. That’s a week extra,” a source revealed as quoted by Times of India.

The BCCI in their press release, chose not to point to the COVID-19 crisis, saying that the heavy rains normally witnessed in September would not make it possible to host the IPL in the country(India). The tournament is expected to start on September 18-19 and end by October 10 in a three-week window conducted between the conclusion of India-England Test series and the T20 World Cup.