A Pune-based advocate, Abhishek Lagoo, has approached the Bombay High Court, challenging BCCI’s de decision to conduct this year’s IPL in the UAE this year instead of India. The petition said if the IPL is held outside India it would cause huge economic and revenue loss to the country. The thirteenth edition of the tournament is set to be held entirely in the UAE.
The BCCI was forced to look for other alternatives to conduct IPL 2020 because of the alarming coronavirus situation in India. The likes of UAE and Sri Lanka had expressed their desire of hosting the tournament before the BCCI finalised UAE as the venue. Moreover, this is not the first time that the IPL is being held outside the country.
In 2009, the entire tournament was held in South Africa because of the general elections. Five years later, the initial phase of the competition was conducted in UAE because of the same reasons. However, Lagoo is not impressed with BCCI’s decision and wants the Indian cricket board to reverse its decision.
Lagoo, who in his plea claimed to be an ardent cricket fan, said the IPL is the most popular T20 cricket league and its brand value in 2019 was Rs 475 billion and is the main revenue earner for the BCCI. The petition is expected to heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Revati Mohite Dere on August 18.
“The IPL is not a charity event. The pandemic has created grave difficulties for all businesses. Holding the IPL in India would prove to be a great economic booster which the country needs desperately,” the petition said according to PTI.
The plea added that the central government has from time to time granted relaxations in the lockdown and allowed reopening of gardens, malls and other public places. Hence, it would not be harmful if the IPL matches are conducted in India with proper precautions and safety measures, the petition said.
Lagoo, in his plea, has sought the high court to direct the BCCI to hold the IPL matches in India. Earlier this month, the government gave BCCI the written permission to conduct the tournament in UAE. The thirteenth edition of the tournament will be held between September 19 and November 10 at Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi stadiums in the UAE.