BCCI open to shifting IPL 2022 overseas if COVID-19 situation worsens: Report

[MenInG]

The COVID-19 situation is once again worsening in India and the country is recording over 1 lakh cases daily. Many states in India are witnessing another wave of COVID and the infection has had its impact on cricket as well. The BCCI has already cancelled many domestic tournaments and COVID now threatens to have an impact on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 too.

The BCCI remains confident of the situation coming under control in the coming months but is open to taking the tournament overseas if the situation worsens. As per a report in India Today, the focus though remains on hosting the tournament in India.

"We are exploring all options which include overseas IPL as well. But our focus is to host IPL in India for sure. As of now our priority is auction, we will soon take a call," a source was quoted as saying by India Today.

Should the BCCI be forced to shift the tournament overseas, it will be the third time when IPL will take place outside India due to COVID. The complete season of IPL 2020 was played in UAE. In 2021, the BCCI was only able to stage 30 matches in India. The tournament had to be postponed in May as COVID-19 breached the bio-bubble. The BCCI also hosted the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE.

Team India is scheduled to host West Indies and Sri Lanka in the home season and a final call regarding IPL might only be taken after these series.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...s-if-covid-19-situation-worsens-report/847787

 

[Cricfan4eva]

If UK can host PL while having 1.5L cases daily, why should India not host it? This is very different from Delta, this is causing mild illness in many and the load on hospitals isn't anything like last April.

Thankfully they have a few months to make that call.

 

[MenInG]

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has all but decided to host the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India. With the COVID-19 situation threatening the board's plans to host the cash-rich tournament in India for the third year in a row, the waning third wave has given the officials much-needed confidence to pull it off in the host nation.

According to a report in the Times of India, the BCCI is contemplating hosting the tournament at four venues in Maharashtra (league stage), followed by the playoffs in Ahmedabad. The Wankhede Stadium, the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune are set to host the league stage, which is going to feature 70 matches with two new teams entering the league from the 2022 edition. While the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will get four playoff matches to host.

"As of now, the Board is mulling organising the league stage in Maharashtra, and the playoffs in Ahmedabad," a source told TOI.

While the venues are more or less finalised, the report mentioned that the board is also trying to have at least 25 percent crowd in the stadiums keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation in the state of Maharashtra. If the cases in Mumbai and Pune remain on the lower side, the cash-rich league could see fans throng the grounds.

"If the number of positive cases aren’t high around that time, the state government authorities are likely to allow around 25% capacity crowds for this year’s IPL,” a Maharashtra government politician said.

The 2022 edition of the IPL is set to begin in the last week of March and is set to go on for a period of two months with the two-day mega auction set to take place on February 12 and 13.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...e-hosted-in-maharashtra-gujarat-report/854242