Top Indian cricket league to move to UAE
ABU DHABI, July 24, 2020
People-to-people engagement between the UAE and India will soar to new heights when the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches this year be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 8.
This was confirmed today by Brijesh Patel, the Chairman of IPL, which is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), an Emirates News Agency (Wam) report said.
The IPL is a professional Indian sports league which has millions of fans in India, the Sub-continent and in the Gulf. It is normally played in India during April-May every year. However, this year, it has been moved out due to the Covid-19 situation.
The Covid-19 pandemic and a complete lockdown imposed by the Indian government during the traditional IPL season resulted in a suspension of the games this year.
This will be the second time that the IPL will be played in the UAE. In 2014, fearing disruptions to the games on account of India’s parliamentary elections during the IPL season, the BCCI split the games into two phases.
The first phase was played at three stadia in the UAE, but the second phase, including the final, was held in India after the voting was over.
The export of IPL to the UAE is subject to clearance by the Indian government. "We have written to the Indian government. We are expecting a reply soon. Once it comes in, an IPL governing council meeting will be called next week to finalise all the other details," Patel said today.
Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai are the likely venues in the UAE. "We will seek the advice of the UAE government if we can have any crowds," Patel said. He and his team will collaborate on such details with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), which will play a lead local role in staging this event, the report said.
