The Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering hosting a national camp for its contracted players in Dubai if the United Arab Emirates is confirmed as host for the 2020 Indian Premier League, The New Indian Express reported on Wednesday.
The 13th edition of the IPL could be staged outside India with sports activities coming to a halt in the country due to Covid-19 and the number of cases on the rise. So far, UAE and Sri Lanka have emerged as options to host the T20 league.
The BCCI is keen to host the event but the board is waiting on International Cricket Council’s decision on the T20 World Cup scheduled for October before taking a call.
As per the report, the BCCI is looking to organise a short camp to assess the fitness of players in case the IPL takes place in UAE during September or October. So far, no international fixtures have been confirmed for India this year except the 2020-’21 tour of Australia, which begins in October.
The board reportedly feels hosting the camp at the ICC Academy in Dubai will be ideal as players can then join their respective franchises if the IPL goes ahead in UAE.
“By the looks of it, UAE will mostly host the IPL, unless the situation improves dramatically in Mumbai. So the camp there makes more sense in every way possible. Once the IPL venue is decided, then expect things to move forward quickly,” an official was quoted as saying by the report.
The IPL was previously partially staged held in UAE during 2014 as the general elections were taking place in India.
BCCI has zeroed in on the September-October window for this year’s IPL, according to league chairman Brijesh Patel. Patel had that the event can be held overseas as games in empty stadiums make the location irrelevant.
“We are looking at the September-October window but that is subject to the postponement of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. We will also have to follow the government guidelines at that time,” Patel had told PTI. The Asia Cup has since been postponed to 2021 but not decision has been made on the T20 World cup yet by the international governing body.