Although there is no clarity on the status of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) owing to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, latest reports now reveal that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now considering to have the cash-rich league from 26 September this year.
The BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had earlier cleared that they were open to stage the tournament behind closed doors because of the pandemic. Moreover, Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday had clarified that the T20 World Cup scheduled to happen this year looks unrealistic.
“It (IPL) will be between September-end and November-start, more specifically it could be from September 26 to November 8. These dates are subject to the expected postponement/cancellation of the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia,” a report in Mumbai Mirror read.
It is also being reported that with the start of the IPL likely in September, most matches will be played in South India as monsoon would not be severe at that time in that part of the country. Accordingly, Chennai and Bangalore seem to be the likely venues to organise the tournament. While Mumbai was the board’s preferred venue, the increase in the number of cases in the city has now made things tough for the organisers.
The second half of the T20 league can also be moved to India’s financial capital. Reports claim that matches can also be played at Karnataka Premier League and Tamil Nadu Premier League venues.
“Mumbai was to be BCCI’s first choice given the infrastructure, four international stadiums, hotels in close proximity and connectivity. But the proliferating number of COVID cases is discouraging the IPL managers.
“Should it be Karnataka or Tamil Nadu (another state where Covid cases are many), the IPL could be staged at the TNPL or KPL venues,” the report further read.
However, no such report has been confirmed from official sources.