IPL is all set to start on 19th of September with the finals on 8th of November. IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel has said that the BCCI has sent a letter of acceptance to UAE Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to host the IPL. The UAE has also confirmed receipt of the letter.
The Emirates Cricket Board had tweeted on Monday that “Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) confirms that they have received the official ‘Letter of Intent’ from BCCI to host the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).” BCCI also said that this is dependent on Indian Government’s approval.
Emirates Secretary General Mubashir Usmani said in a statement, “We have received the (official) letter and now wait for the decision of the Government of India which will lead to the final agreement.”
All government departments of the UAE are capable of organizing this level of tournament and have proved themselves in the past. The UAE had also hosted a part of IPL T20 league in 2014 due to general elections in India. Usmani said, “We know what is needed and whom we have to consult in the tournament from the beginning to the end.”
The boards of both countries (India and UAE) will work together and do the formalities. The players will require 3-4 weeks of training. Hence training camps will be organized by all 8 teams before the start of the tournament. The teams will hire the ICC cricket academy grounds in Dubai for their training.
The quarantine policy is not much strict in UAE compared to other countries considering the less amount of COVID-19 active cases. There is a possibility that crowds will also be permitted in stands to watch the matches. The matches are going to be conducted in 3 different Emirates. Every Emirate has its own protocols, i.e protocols of Dubai Emirate are different from Sharjah Emirate and Abu Dhabi Emirate.
The foriegn players from different countries are expected to land directly in UAE via charter flights. IPL 2020 is almost certain to be played this year with or without a crowd.
The sports ministry has already approved the IPL in UAE. Now the board is waiting for the approval of Foriegh ministry and Home ministry. The IPL Governing Council will meet this week. The league schedule and SOPs (quarantine measure and bio-secure bubbles) will be discussed in that meeting. Let’s find out what happens in the meeting in the coming days.