A picture of former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is going viral with a claim that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be shifted to United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the upcoming elections.
What are users claiming?: Those sharing the post have said, "IPL is set to be shifted to the UAE due to elections, so Dhoni will be playing in IPL 2025 as well, as he said his last match will be in Chepauk (sic)."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
We received a query about the viral claim on our WhatsApp tipline as well. (Archives of similar reports can be found here, here, and here.)
What is the truth?: While initial unverified reports were suggesting that the IPL may be shifted to UAE, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the entire tournament will be held in India.
How did we find that out?: A keyword search on Google directed us to a report published on Cricbuzz.
The report mentioned that the BCCI secretary clarified to the organisation that the entire tournament would be held in India and dismissed speculations that it would move overseas.
It said that some reports had earlier indicated that the second leg of the IPL might be moved to the UAE due to the upcoming general elections.
The report further said that the fixtures for only the first 21 matches were released. However, BCCI is now expected to release the entire fixture for the tournament soon.
The report was published on 16 March.
(Source: Cricbuzz/Screenshot)
Other sources: A report in Deccan Herald said that IPL chairman Arun Dhumal dismissed speculations of the tournament being shifted to the UAE due to the upcoming elections.
While speaking to PTI, Dhumal said, "The IPL is not being shifted anywhere. We will soon announce the remaining fixture."
Conclusion: It is evident that the claims about IPL being shifted to the UAE due to the upcoming general elections are incorrect.
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