The talks of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign being moved to the UAE have been afloat for a while and now the same has been confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla. The IPL Season 14 had come to a halt after 29 games were played in the campaign due to Covid-19 cases within the league. It has now been confirmed that the season will resume from the third week of September.
Reports had earlier suggested a possible restart from September 19 or 20 but the dates haven’t been confirmed yet though Shukla told Times Now that the tournament is likely to resume in the third week of September. The BCCI Special General Meeting was scheduled for today (May 29) in Mumbai where the talks over the remaining IPL 2021 season and the T20 World Cup were held.
Just like last year, the remaining games will be spread across three venues — Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi — though the availability of foreign players will remain a concern.
“There have been talks with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and they are happy to host the remaining IPL in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi like last time. The BCCI will now speak to the foreign boards to decide on the availability of the foreign players. While the Australian players may be available, there are some questions over the availability of the England and New Zealand players, we will see how that works out. We are looking at a 25-day window and that is on,” an ANI source said.
No call on T20 World Cup 2021 venue yet
About the T20 World Cup that is to be held this year, Rajeev Shukla told Times Now that the board will ask ICC to give them more time over finalising the venue as the Covid-19 situation is still developing in the country. The BCCI has asked the ICC to give them one month’s time to take a call on the venue for the showpiece event.
“There is still close to four and a half months and we are confident things will change in that space of time with respect to COVID-19. The BCCI will request the ICC for time till the end of June or the start of July to take a final call on the matter,” a source explained to ANI.
The ICC meeting is scheduled to take place on June 01 where the BCCI would look to buy more time as far as the T20 World Cup’s fate is concerned.
