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BCCI hopeful of staging the remainder of IPL in UAE between Sep-Oct

Aryasekhar Chakraborty

 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is running against time to host the remainder of the Indian Premier League matches. Earlier in May, the 14th edition of the tournament had to be suspended indefinitely after COVID-19 cases were reported inside the bio-bubbles. 

In a Special General Meeting on 29 May, BCCI may decide the fate of the tournament and how to conduct the remaining 31 matches. Reports have emerged that BCCI is looking to host the remaining matches in UAE in the September-October window following the conclusion of India’s three-month-long tour of England. 

Both Indian men’s and women’s team have started quarantining in Mumbai before leaving for the UK. They will play New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Test Championship starting 18th June. 

The men's team will get a month-long time to prepare themselves for the five-match Test series against England starting from August. With the tour slated to conclude on 14 September, BCCI is trying to make the 15 September - 15 October window the feasible option. 

There hasn’t been any formal request from the BCCI yet but it is learnt that they might request England and the Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to reduce the gap between the second and the third Test. There is a gap of nine days between the 2nd and the 3rd Test as per the original schedule. However, BCCI might make a request to reduce the gap to four days which will give them enough time. 

“If that gap can be reduced to four, it will allow BCCI five extra days to make use of,” a BCCI source told Times of India on the condition of anonymity. “If we can have those extra days eked out from India-England schedule, then it adds to the window,” he added. 

The ECB has made it clear that the English cricketers won’t miss any national assignments if the IPL is rescheduled at some point this year. BCCI is also planning to fly out the English players from the UK to UAE after the conclusion of the England tour.

“If not (able to reduce the gap) then within these 30 days, a full day will have to be set aside for the Indian team and the English cricketers to travel from the UK to the UAE, five days will have to be set aside for the knockouts later. That will leave the BCCI with 24 days to conclude 27 matches,” a BCCI source told Times of India. 

This window has four weekends available, which means a total of eight Saturdays and Sundays for double-headers, that can accommodate 16 matches. That will leave the BCCI with 11 matches to be held in 19 days. That’s a week extra,” the source further added. 

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