"IPL 2020 In UAE?": BCCI To Take Decision

The fate of IPL 2020 still hangs in the balance with the BCCI adapting the ‘wait and watch’ policy for the lucrative tournament amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The IPL 2020 was originally slated to get underway from March 29 but it was deferred to April 15 due to the pandemic. Later, with the lockdown being extended, the IPL 2020 has been postponed indefinitely by the parent body.

The parent body can incur a huge loss if the IPL 2020 gets called off. They have kept the July window open for the tournament to be played behind closed doors with talks of the tournament taking the October slot for T20 World Cup also in place, with the marquee tournament being postponed to next year.

UAE has offered to host IPL 2020: BCCI

Following reports that Sri Lanka has offered to host the tournament, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has now said that UAE is ready to host IPL 2020. UAE had earlier hosted at least 20 IPL matches in 2014 to avoid clash with general elections in India. Though, a decision on commencement of the tournament this year is yet to be taken.

“The UAE has offered to host the IPL if we want them to. But right now when there is no international travel, there is no question of taking a call on that,” BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“The health and security of players and all participants is our priority. At the moment, the entire world travel has come to a standstill, so there is nothing we can decide at this stage,” he added.

Business Today, in a report, had claimed the cricket body can incur Rs. 3,869.5 crore loss if the tournament is cancelled. The amount includes Rs 3,269.5 crore of broadcast and streaming revenue and Rs 200 crore and Rs 400 crore of central sponsorship and title sponsorship revenues respectively, the report further added.