South Africa could host the 12th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) because of the General Elections in the country.
In fact, this is not the first time that the tournament will get moved out of the country. South Africa had hosted the second season of IPL in 2009 because of the same reason.
Furthermore, the first half of the 2014 season was played in the UAE because of the General Elections as well. Thus, the Indian government had told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI )that they will not be able to provide the security for the tournament.
South Africa is looking forward to grabbing the deal.
Cricket South Africa Chief Executive, Thabang Moroe confirmed the country might get the hosting rights for the IPL 2019.
“If they were to propose to move it to SA‚ the easy answer to give now is yes. We would be interested in hosting the IPL‚” Moroe said.
Furthermore, Moroe went on to add there are some issues as far as the South African wickets are concerned. Moreover, South Africa is also going to schedule the Under-19 World Cup in the coming two years.
“Should we continue with our domestic T20 Slam this year‚ the tournament will also add to the workload on the wickets … and those are all things we must take cognizance [of] before we make a decision”.
The Cricket South Africa chief went on to add the matter would get clear when the Indian government announces the election dates. Meanwhile, Dubai is also in the contention race to host the 12th season of the league.
“It remains speculation for now until such time that the government of India announces the date for elections. But there is an appetite for them to move it to either SA or Dubai.”
Meanwhile, IPL 2019 could get preponed because of the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.