The Board of Control for Cricket in India has sent the acceptance letter to the Emirates Cricket Board to its offer of hosting the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, the Khaleej Times reported.
The ECB had sent a proposal to BCCI in April offering to host the IPL having already hosted the initial part of the tournament in 2014.
The 13th season of the IPL that was scheduled to start on March 29 was postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With India experiencing a surge in the number of cases, the fate of the IPL was in the balance.
However, Patel confirmed that the IPL would now be staged in the UAE from September 19 to November 8, pending government approval.
“Yes, we have sent the acceptance letter to the Emirates Cricket Board and both the boards will be working together from now on to stage the tournament,” Brijesh Patel, the chairman of the IPL Governing Council told Khaleej Times on Sunday.
“The teams need at least three to four weeks to prepare for the tournament,” said Patel before adding that the training camps will be held in the UAE in a ‘bio-secure’ environment.
The ECB confirmed that they have received the official Letter of Intent from the BCCI to host the 2020 edition of the IPL.
“We have received the (official) letter and now wait on the decision from the Indian Government which will ink the final deal.” said Mubashshir Usmani, Emirates Cricket Board Secretary General, in an ECB release.
“There are many factors which influence the operations and logistics of hosting what is the world’s most exciting, popular and lucrative tournament.” added Usmani.
“This is a massive movement of people and equipment and we now need to bring in the experts to discuss all aspects of UAE hosting the IPL. This includes the Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah Sports Councils, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah Tourism Bodies and the respective Government entities – such as the Police Forces and the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, all who have had strong, proven experience in such activities and we will work together to ascertain the best practices to support and deliver on a successful edition.”
The BCCI is awaiting approval from the Indian government for staging the tournament on foreign soil and is likely to make an official announcement after the IPL Governing Council meeting later this week.
The UAE has managed to curb the spread of Covid-19 with the country recording less than 60,000 positive cases.
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