The COVID-19 situation is once again worsening in India and the country is recording over 1 lakh cases daily. Many states in India are witnessing another wave of COVID and the infection has had its impact on cricket as well. The BCCI has already cancelled many domestic tournaments and COVID now threatens to have an impact on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 too.

The BCCI remains confident of the situation coming under control in the coming months but is open to taking the tournament overseas if the situation worsens. As per a report in India Today, the focus though remains on hosting the tournament in India.

“We are exploring all options which include overseas IPL as well. But our focus is to host IPL in India for sure. As of now our priority is auction, we will soon take a call,” a source was quoted as saying by India Today.

Should the BCCI be forced to shift the tournament overseas, it will be the third time when IPL will take place outside India due to COVID. The complete season of IPL 2020 was played in UAE. In 2021, the BCCI was only able to stage 30 matches in India. The tournament had to be postponed in May as COVID-19 breached the bio-bubble. The BCCI also hosted the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE.

Team India is scheduled to host West Indies and Sri Lanka in the home season and a final call regarding IPL might only be taken after these series.

Before the IPL 2022, the board is also scheduled to host the mega auction for the season. Since it’s a mega auction, it will be a two-day affair. As per Cricbuzz, the IPL 2022 auction is scheduled to take place on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. The 15th edition of the tournament is likely to kick off in March.