Venues Ready In UAE As Emirates Cricket Board Gears Up To Host IPL 2020

While the BCCI is yet to finalise the venue and schedule for this year’s IPL, UAE are keeping themselves ready in case, they get the opportunity to host the tournament. The thirteenth edition of the IPL was scheduled to take place between March 29 and May 17 but had to be suspended indefinitely in the light of the pandemic.

However, the BCCI has made it clear that conducting the tournament this year is their topmost priority. And it is very much likely that IPL 2020 could take place outside the country because of the alarming pandemic situation in India. UAE are the front-runners to host the tournament and they are making sure to keep themselves ready if the opportunity comes knocking.

The IPL is likely to take place in September-October provided that the ICC postpones this year’s T20 World Cup. The marquee event is still officially scheduled between October 18 to November 15 in Australia but is likely to be called off.

According to a report in Gulf News, the BCCI has been in regular touch with Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to take a lowdown on the state of readiness of the venues – Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Sources have also revealed that some of the franchises have also touched base with hotels in Dubai with an aim to work out their projected costs.

Salman Hanif, Head of Cricket & Events of Dubai Sports City (which includes the Dubai International Stadium & the ICC Academy) said they were ready to put their best foot forward if the IPL is held here and to host the Indian players if they arrive in Dubai early for practice sessions.

“The stadium has nine wickets on the top in case a large number of matches have to be accommodated within a smaller time-frame. We will not be scheduling any matches there to keep the wickets fresh,” Hanif told the news outlet.

The official, in fact, went a step forward to suggest that they were even ready to host the matches with a “limited number of spectators” if the government protocol allows for that after a period of two months.

Team India players are the most affected as they have not been able to have any form of collective practice since the aborted one-day series in South Africa in March. Reports suggest that a group of 30-35 players could be leaving for Dubai beforehand for practice sessions. Hanif said that hosting the large batch would not be a problem for the ECB.

“The practice facilities are never be going to be a problem as we have hosted multi-team events before. In the ICC complex alone, there are 38 wickets – spread over the two Oval grounds, the simulated turf wickets as well as the state-of-the-art indoor facilities in case they want to beat the heat,” Hanif said.

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