IPL 2020: UAE keeping itself ready in case the call comes from BCCI
IPL Trophy.
As speculations continue to grow that the currently suspended Indian Premier league (IPL) 2020 could be held in the UAE due to rising caseload of COVID-19 in India, Dubai Sports City’s Head of Cricket and Events Salman Hanif has said that they are keeping the stadiums and facilities ready in case the BCCI takes the call to move the cash-rich tournament abroad.
The IPL is looking at the September-early November window and with the T20 World Cup 2020 likely to be postponed, the BCCI might look to shift the 13th edition of IPL to the UAE.
Speaking to ‘Gulf News’ Hanif said that the Dubai Sports City, which included the Dubai International Stadium and the ICC Academy, is ready a potential venue for the glitzy T20 league.
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“The stadium has nine wickets on the top in case a large number of matches have to be accommodated within a smaller time-frame. We will not be scheduling any matches there to keep the wickets fresh,” said Hanif.
While case count in India has crossed the 10 lakh-mark, including over 25,000 deaths, the UAE has recorded more than 50,000 cases with over 300 deaths.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has already said that the board is keen to conduct the IPL even if has to be moved abroad. And if the IPL manages to book the September-November window for itself, the eight franchises would want their players to land in the UAE a bit early in a bid to earn time for practice.
“The practice facilities are never going to be a problem as we have hosted multi-team events before. In the ICC complex alone, there are 38 wickets – spread over the two Oval grounds, the simulated turf wickets as well as the state-of-the-art indoor facilities in case they want to beat the heat,” Hanif said.