A group of English counties have gotten together and written to the England and Wales Cricket Board, requesting it to invite the Board of Control for Cricket in India to conduct the remainder of Indian Premier League 2021 in the United Kingdom, according to a report by ESPNcricinfo.
The 2021 edition of the IPL was suspended earlier this week due to multiple participants testing positive for Covid-19 inside the bio-bubble.
Also read:
No bubble is 100%: Reactions to IPL 2021 getting suspended amid India’s Covid-19 crisis
Want to make it clear that IPL 2021 is not cancelled, it has been postponed: BCCI VP Rajeev Shukla
We’ll find a way to send the foreign players home, says IPL chairman Brijesh Patel
The report stated that the MCC, Surrey, Warwickshire and Lancashire, who are based at Lord’s, The Kia Oval (both London), Edgbaston (Birmingham) and Emirates Old Trafford (Manchester) have offered to host the matches remaining in the season and complete it in two weeks in the second half of September.
In June, the Indian team is slated to tour England for a five-Test series and there is also the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand before that.
With the T20 World Cup scheduled for October and likely to be shifted from India to the UAE, hosting the remainder of IPL 2021 in England could be considered as an option by the BCCI with any other window looking tough as things stand.
In such a scenario, the Indian players would be expected to finish the Test series against England, compete in the IPL for two weeks in late September and then fly straight to UAE for the World Cup.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!