IPL 2022: South Africa To Be The Alternate Venue For The Tournament If COVID-19 Steep Up- Reports

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has considered South Africa as their backup plan to host the matches of IPL 2022.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the entire globe with its regular functioning, administrators of sporting bodies are no different.

IPL 2022: BCCI keeps South Africa as the alternative venue after India

The biggest challenge for any association is to stage events while also keeping the safety of the players and other stakeholders as the top-most priority.

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BCCI’s biggest product– the Indian Premier League– has already gone through its share of hurdles as the Indian board had to stage the IPL finals twice in the deserted United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Last year, the BCCI started its lucrative tournament in India before they had to temporarily suspend the IPL 2021 in early May owing to rising COVID-19 cases in India.

The tournament was rescheduled and the second phase of IPL 2021 was held in the September-October window.

South Africa is BCCI’s Plan-B

This time the BCCI is very keen to stage the entire tournament in a few cities of India but keeping the current situation of COVID-19 in India, the board has kept South Africa as an alternative venue.

“The Board has paid Emirates Cricket fees to the tune of Rs 150 crore (Rs 100 cr for 2020 edition of the IPL & Rs 50 crore for the 2021 edition) to host the tournament there. The Board is certainly not keen on spending that kind of money again and will therefore look at options,” sources close to development told Times of India.

“There are only three grounds in the UAE, so the wear and tear will be all the more. Secondly, look at a venue like Sharjah – it was so predictable last season, based on the toss. There has to be some freshness to the way things go about.

“It may not happen at all. South Africa is merely the BCCI’s Plan-B. Their Plan-A is to host the tournament in India – between Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune and the knockouts in Ahmedabad – if air-travel must be avoided or made as minimal as possible,” they added.

BCCI office-bearers will hold a meeting with the IPL Governing Council and owners of the IPL franchises on Saturday to discuss about the potential venue.

The last time IPL was held in South Africa was in 2009 as India observed its general elections during that period.

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