With COVID-19 cases hitting the IPL in both Ahmedabad and Delhi, the BCCI are looking to move the tournament to Mumbai to minimise the risks in the situation.
A report in ESPNCricinfo suggests that the BCCI could begin the newly arranged phase as early as this weekend with more doubleheaders and a possible change in the date for the final which is currently scheduled for 30 May.
The most important and difficult aspect of moving the tournament would be creating the bubble. However, the advantage for Mumbai is that they had hosted part of the ongoing IPL.
The Wankhede had hosted 10 IPL matches and the Mumbai Cricket Association's ground in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, were used by various teams for training purposes.
While franchises have reportedly expressed that they would not mind the move to Mumbai, which was the BCCI’s initial plan before the six venues had been picked out. The IPL’s next phase, as per schedule, sees them moving to Bangalore and Kolkata, where the COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing, apart from the obvious danger of travelling.
On Monday, the IPL reached the halfway mark, but the 30th match, between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Ahmedabad, was postponed after KKR players Varun Chakaravarthy and Sandeep Warrier tested positive.
While it is being said that Wednesday's match in Delhi is on, it remains to be seen if the game eventually goes ahead as Delhi is the worst affected city where Covid patients are crying for oxygen and hospital beds.
Currently, 30 matches in the IPL have been completed, with the 31st between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday being postponed.
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