Virat Kohli claims IPL will take place this year in Dubai: Ex-India pacer Atul Wassan

The IPL 2020, which was scheduled to start on March 29, was indefinitely postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As of now, there is a cloud of uncertainty looming over the fate of the tournament this year. There has also been a lot of speculation about the commencement of the IPL 2020.

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IPL 2020 could be held in Dubai: Atul Wassan

Now, former India pacer Atul Wassan has reckoned that the IPL could be held in Dubai this year. While speaking to Sportskeeda, Wassan spoke about how the IPL could happen in September in the UAE, as per his conversations with skipper Virat Kohli and some other players. Wassan added that it is better to organize IPL 2020 in a well-connected city like Dubai.

The motive behind this is that it would reduce the amount of travelling between the stadiums and the players could avoid flights altogether during the tournament. Wassan further said that all the travelling between cities and moving from hotel-to-hotel would put players and fans at risk, considering the crisis that the world is in currently.

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On being asked about the domestic competitions in India, Wassan said that he doesn't see that happening. Because there are too many teams, too many matches and too much travelling. He added that the price of flights is also a factor so there is not much hope for domestic competitions to start soon.

Wassan further said that the budgeting has to be done and added that they don’t know how many flights will start, how many players will get on and how much will the tickets cost. Wassan reckoned that India is still not ready to have the Ranji Trophy in the same format as what we have seen over the years. However, he admitted that there could see a version of the domestic tournament where the teams play within their own zones.

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BCCI CEO hopeful of conducting IPL 2020 after the monsoon

The fate of IPL 2020 largely depends on the T20 World Cup in Australia which is scheduled from October 18 to November 15. Australia might postpone the tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic not subsiding in the country. The CEO of BCCI, Rahul Johri said that plans are on to hold IPL 2020 with Indian and international players after the monsoon.

While speaking at the TCM Sports Huddle webinar, Johri said that IPL is one of the greatest engagers in cricket. Johri further said that the flavour of IPL is that the best players in the world come and play and everyone is committed to maintaining that flow. But it will be a step-by-step process. He added that they can’t expect things to get normalised instantly. However, he was clear that players’ decision to participate or not would be respected.

The BCCI CEO reckoned that they will be guided by the government guidelines and added that the advisory says that the IPL is suspended till further notice. He also revealed that they are engaging with various agencies. After the current phase of lockdown ends, there is the monsoon. Cricketing activities can start only after the monsoon. Johri accepted that scheduling IPL won’t be easy even in the October-November window. However, he was optimistic and hopeful that the situation will improve after the monsoon.

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IMAGE COURTESY: YOUTUBE/BREAKFAST WITH CHAMPIONS