Direct BCCI to hold IPL in India: Lawyer to High Court, Petition To Be Heard By Court On August 18

An advocate has approached the Bombay High Court challenging the decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hold this year’s IPL in UAE instead of India. The Indian cricket board has been compelled by the present situations to move the tournament outside the country.

BCCI had maintained throughout that hosting the IPL in India was its first priority. However, the alarming coronavirus situation has forced it to finalise UAE as the venue. Earlier this month, the government of India also gave green light to the BCCI to move the tournament outside the country.

However, the decision has not gone down well with the Pune-based advocate Abhishek Lagoo. In his petition, he said that if the IPL is held outside India it would cause huge economic and revenue loss to the country.

Calling himself an ardent cricket fan in his plea, Lagoo said the IPL is the most popular T20 cricket league and its brand value in 2019 was Rs 475 billion and is the main revenue earner for the BCCI. The petition is expected to heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Revati Mohite Dere on August 18.

“The IPL is not a charity event. The pandemic has created grave difficulties for all businesses. Holding the IPL in India would prove to be a great economic booster which the country needs desperately, the petition said according to PTI.

The plea added that the central government has from time to time granted relaxations in the lockdown and allowed reopening of gardens, malls and other public places. Hence, it would not be harmful if the IPL matches are conducted in India with proper precautions and safety measures, the petition said.

Lagoo, in his plea, has sought the high court to direct the BCCI to hold the IPL matches in India. IPL 2020 is scheduled to be held between September 19 and November 10 at Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi stadiums in the UAE. The teams will start leaving for UAE after August 20.

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