Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was postponed two days ago, a consortium of English counties has offered to host the rest of the tournament this year in September. The Kia Oval (London), Edgbaston (Birmingham), and Emirates Old Trafford, as well as MCC, Surrey, Warwickshire, and Lancashire, who are headquartered at Lord’s, are believed to be part of the body that wrote to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) encouraging them to contact the Board of Control for Cricket in India, according to ESPNcricinfo (BCCI).
One of the main reasons for the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council jointly agreeing to postpone the league on Tuesday was to ensure the welfare of everybody participating in the tournament.
As part of the build-up to the T20 World Cup, which is set to take place in October this year, English counties have also vowed to provide professional cricket to top players.
The counties also plan to host the IPL 2021 in front of a large crowd, according to the paper.
The BCCI also wants to end the league in September, before the T20 World Cup.
A senior BCCI official familiar with the situation told ANI that if the COVID-19 situation is under control by September, the 14th edition of the tournament can be completed.
“What’s to stop you? We should certainly look at the window before the T20 WC if the international players are available and the COVID-19 situation is under control. It will, in effect, serve as a good practise ground for the main event “the official said.
Meanwhile, the ECB announced on Wednesday that eight of the 11 English players who were scheduled to appear in the 14th edition of the IPL had returned home after the season had been postponed on Tuesday.
Danny Reuben, the England cricket team’s head of team contact, told ANI that while eight players had returned to the UK, the remaining three were scheduled to depart India in the next 48 hours.
“I can confirm that eight of the eleven England players currently in India boarded a flight to Heathrow last night and arrived this morning. They will now be quarantined in hotels that have been licenced by the authorities. Jordan, Malan, and Morgan, the remaining three, should leave India within the next 48 hours “he had said