The postponed season of IPL 2021 is all set to resume in the United Arab Emirates in September and October. The BCCI had held a Special General Meeting on Saturday, May 29 and the decision was made to shift the tournament to the UAE.
It is understood that the BCCI has discussed the tentative dates for the resumption, with a window of September 18 to October 12. The BCCI released a media statement on Saturday to convey their decision of moving the IPL 2021 to the UAE. However, their reasoning that the shift is due to the “monsoon season in India” has received quite the treatment from social media.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year,”
the BCCI said.
The BCCI have plenty of hurdles to cross to conduct the tournament successfully. Their biggest headache will be the potential unavailability of overseas players. India’s five-match Test series concludes on September 14 and a week later, England are slated to tour Bangladesh, followed by the Pakistan series. This packed international schedule could mean that England’s top limited-overs stars will miss the IPL.
The Caribbean Premier League has announced its dates and is slated to happen between August 18 and September 19. The clash could mean that many top Caribbean T20 superstars will miss some part of the IPL tournament. It is learnt that the BCCI has requested the Cricket West Indies to tweak the CPL schedule. The BCCI are confident of conducting the tournament in time before the T20 World Cup begins.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has requested more time to take the right call on the hosting of the T20 World Cup. The ICC already made it clear that the window of the T20 WC, which is slated to happen between October 16 to November 14, will not be changed. An ICC Board meeting will take place on June 1, where the ICC directors will decide on BCCI’s request. Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI President, is expected to attend the meeting.