BCCI seeks Modi government's nod to hold IPL 2020 between September & November in UAE

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sought permission from the Centre to host the league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between the last week of September to the first week of November. Following ICC's decision to postpone the T20 World Cup to 2021, the IPL GC called for an immediate meeting on Friday to zero down on the venue and schedule of the 2020 IPL which has been indefinitely postponed due to COVID-19. BCCI's move tpo seek permission from the Centre comes a day after the World cup was postponed. 

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IPL in UAE?

"We have sent a request letter to the concerned ministry with central govt seeking its permission to hold IPL in UAE between September end and November first week. We are hopeful things will get better and we will get a final clearance", IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Republic TV.  

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The seventh season of the IPL, in 2014, was held in UAE where the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerged as champions. A part of the tournament was held outside India due to the 2014 General elections being held at the same time. this will be the third time the IPL will be hosted outside the country.   

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Despite keeping its options open, board President Sourav Ganguly has stated that staging the tournament in India is a priority. However, UAE has emerged as a likely venue for the 13th edition of the IPL. Reports have also suggested that the board has considered Mumbai-Pune as an alternative venue to stage the entire league considering the infrastructure. 

T20 World Cup Postponed

In a major development, the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in Australia later this year has been postponed to 2021 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was taken in the ICC meeting held on Monday. The ICC has zeroed down a window between October-November 2021 for the postponed World Cup with the final date being November 14. Consequently, the T20 World Cup 2021 has also been pushed to October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022 while the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India between October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023.

"At today’s meeting of the IBC Board (the commercial subsidiary of the ICC), windows for the next three ICC men’s events were also agreed to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19," the ICC said in a statement. 

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