With the written permission of the Indian government, the preparations for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League in the UAE has gained momentum. It is also now confirmed that a contingent team of the BCCI will leave for the UAE on August 22 amid the COVID-19 pandemic to oversee the arrangements for the tournament. The IPL is scheduled to start on September 19 with the final to be played on November 10.
According to the source, the BCCI team will include IPL chairman Brijesh Patel, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, treasurer Arun Dhumal, interim CEO Hemang Amin and others. It is not yet clear whether BCCI president Sourav Ganguly will be in the squad or not.
The BCCI squad may also include selected franchise heads and representatives of broadcaster Star Sports. There are currently no regular flights to the UAE. Therefore, a chartered plane is being arranged for the tour of this team. All officers will have to be quarantined for six days in a hotel room before inspecting the stadium as well as other facilities.
According to sources, the BCCI’s visit to the UAE will be important. It will take a final decision on all the facilities required for the IPL such as hotels, travel arrangements and all other issues.
There will be talks with Emirates Cricket Board officials on preparations, discussions with key ministers in the UAE and also with the Indian Embassy on the opening of the BCCI office in Dubai to oversee the preparations for IPL 2020. UAE will be the base for BCCI to conduct IPL matches. We could also see further bilateral cricket in that country (UAE) if the COVID-19 cases graph doesn’t flattens in India.