The BCCI during their Special General Meeting on Saturday decided that the remainder of the IPL will be completed this year.
The rest of the tournament, 31 games, will be played in the UAE, the BCCI confirmed citing the poor weather conditions in September-October. In 2020, the IPL had been played in the UAE in a bio-secure bubble.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year. The decision was taken at a Special General Meeting (SGM) held virtually, where members unanimously agreed to resume IPL,” the BCCI said.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said, “IPL has been moved to UAE for this season.”
The T20 World Cup expected to start around mid-October (the date has not been finalised yet), which leaves the BCCI with about a one-month window from 14 September to about 15 October to complete the IPL.
The move is along expected lines as had been reported in recent weeks.
On resumption, the IPL however will likely be without the England players as the ECB have asked them to pick the national team over the T20 tournament.
When the IPL was brought to an abrupt halt on 3 May due to the positive COVID-19 cases in the bio-bubble, the Delhi Capitals were leading the table.
With the ICC also set to decide on whether the T20 World Cup in October-November should happen in India on 1 June, the BCCI have decided request for more time from the governing body on the matter. Reports suggest that the BCCI is set to ask for a one month extension on the matter.
“The BCCI SGM further authorised the Office Bearers to seek an extension of time from the ICC to take an appropriate call on the hosting of ICC T20 World Cup 2021,” the statement read.
Domestic Cricket Payments
The matter of the pending payments for the domestic cricketers was not on the BCCI SGM agenda and was not discussed either.
Cricbuzz reported that one of the association’s raised the issue but the matter was turned down by BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Rajeev Shukla, who cited its absence from the agenda.
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