IPL 2021 Should Have Been Played In UAE Instead Of India, Says Former Indian Cricketer Karsan Ghavri

Former Indian cricketer Karsan Ghavri has said that IPL 2021 should have been hosted in the UAE instead of India. His comments arrive after IPL 2021 was suspended by BCCI with immediate effect after some players contacted Covid-19. As many as 7 people from different teams were tested positive for Covid-19 which forced BCCI to postponed IPL 2021 on Tuesday.

Kolkata Knight Riders players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrior were the first to test positive for Covid-19. Later, three members of CSK’s support staff including bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji were also tested positive for Covid-19. Delhi Capitals’ spinner Amit Mishra and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha also contacted Covid-19.

IPL Should Have Been Played In UAE: Karsan Ghavri

While speaking to Times of India, former India pacer Karsan Ghavri has said that IPL 2021 should have been played in UAE like the last season.

“It has been more than a year now that COVID-19 is there. I would say IPL should have been played in the UAE or any other country, but not in India. The condition right now is very bad. India shouldn’t have hosted the IPL this year. They should have opted for the UAE just like last season,” Ghavri said.

Karsan also said that the health of the people is the first priority. He also mentioned that UAE has all the facilities to host IPL games.

“I know there is a huge fan following in our country but the health of people should be the first priority. What was the harm in hosting the IPL in the UAE? When you had all the facilities there in terms of five-star hotels etc. You have Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai. These are stadiums equipped with all facilities. The UAE should have been the first option to host the IPL. The UAE was the best place to host IPL matches and keep our players safe.”

Notably, some members of the IPL governing council had proposed BCCI to shift IPL 2021 to UAE instead of India. However, BCCI went ahead with the plan to conduct IPL 2021 in India and adopted some measures for the safety of the tournament. However, Covid-19 affected the tournament badly in the end. Last year, IPL 2020 was conducted in UAE and was successful as no player contacted Covid-19 during the tournament.

Now, the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 also faces fears of getting shifted out of India. The tournament is set to be hosted by India during October-November later this year. However, if the Covid-19 situation doesn’t improve in India, the ICC event might shift to another location. Some reports have also claimed that ICC is in talks with Emirates Cricket Board to shift the tournament to UAE.