The BCCI has finally received the green light from the central government to stage this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE. IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed the news on Monday (August 10). Last week, the IPL GC had confirmed UAE as the venue of the competition due to the alarming coronavirus situation in India.
The thirteenth edition of the tournament will be taking place from September 19 to November 10 in three cities — Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. All the teams will be staying in bio-secure bubbles and no member will be allowed to move out of it before the tournament ends.
Last week, the India government had last week given an “in principle” go-ahead to the BCCI to shift the marquee league to the UAE due to rising cases of Covid-19 in the country. The Indian cricket board has now received the permission in writing to shift the competition outside India. When an Indian sports body shifts a domestic tournament abroad, it requires clearance from Home, External and sports ministries.
“Yes, we have received all the written approvals,” Patel told PTI when asked whether the permission has come in writing from both the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“Once we had the verbal okay from the government, we had intimated the Emirates Cricket Board. Now we have the papers also, so franchises can be intimated that everything is in order,” a veteran BCCI official told the news agency.
All the teams will be starting to leave for UAE later this month but only after August 20. All the teams will also have to undergo two mandatory RT-PCR (COVID-19 tests) conducted within 24 hours from their departure base.
Meanwhile, the BCCI is currently looking for this year’s IPL’s title sponsors after Vivo sensationally suspended their deal last week. The Chinese mobile manufacturing giants are likely to return as the title sponsors next year and thus the BCCI needs to find the sponsors for the upcoming season.