The BCCI has begun planning for the remaining 31 matches of the Indian Premier League to be held in the United Arab Emirates. The league’s senior brass, including President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah, are in Dubai to discuss the league’s logistics. According to information obtained by InsideSport.co, in addition to the venue change, major alterations to the IPL 2021 schedule will be unveiled in order to fit all 31 games within a 25-day frame.
In order to squeeze eight double headers within the 25-day frame, BCCI is creating a new schedule. The BCCI plans to start the second leg between September 17th and 19th, and the IPL 2021 Phase 2 schedule is scheduled to be released by the end of June.
BCCI had only six double-headers left if the IPL hadn’t been stopped owing to a Covid-19 outbreak within the bio-secure bubble. However, it now has a limited time to complete all of the games before to the T20 World Cup. Eight to 10 double headers are planned by the cricket board.
If the T20 World Cup is moved to the UAE, the BCCI and the Emirates Cricket Board will be required to give over sites to the ICC by October 1st. However, InsideSport has learned that the BCCI has received informal permission from the ICC to continue playing matches at one of the three locations. As a result, during the ICC board meeting, Oman was mentioned as a possible standby host for the T20 World Cup.
The BCCI is set to stick to the same schedule as last year. On days where double-headers were planned in the IPL 2020, the first match began at 3:30 p.m., followed by the second at 7:30 p.m.
The franchisees have begun discussing the logistical problems with the hotels in the UAE. After their discussions with the ECB and the UAE government, the BCCI is anticipated to issue a dateline on when teams may begin arriving in the UAE, according to a franchise official. As a result, no plans would be finalised until the board issued an official statement.