IPL 2021: Three countries that can host the remainder of the tournament
As the Indian Premier League 2021 got halted, a bigger question of when it will resume emerged. Even though the Board of Control for Cricket in India has said that they are not going to rush into a decision when it comes to the resumption, there are some probable venues that have emerged. The tournament might be held in September but it will be difficult to narrow down to one venue, which will be ready to host the tournament. Having said that, here are 3 Countries that can host the remainder of IPL 2021:
3. United Arab Emirates
When the IPL 2021 was first called off, all the Indian fans immediately thought about the possibility of having the league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). One of the major reasons why the UAE emerged was because of hosting the tournament twice. In the 2014 season, the first half of the tournament had to be shifted to the middle-eastern country due to the elections.
A similar situation arose in the 2020 season when the BCCI had to shift it to the UAE due to COVID-19. The country hosted the tournament quite magnificently and it was close to perfect when it comes to the arrangements. On top of that, it should be noted that the country has three venues, all of which can be accessed by road. This is also why UAE has been sought after as far as a backup venue for the ICC T20 World Cup is concerned. Having said that, UAE is the frontrunner to host the IPL.
2. England
In 2009, when the IPL was held outside the country for the first time, apart from South Africa, England had also shown a bit of interest in hosting it. However, when that deal didn’t go as expected, England left the hopes of hosting the IPL ever again, until now. As we look at the probable options, it should be noted that England has expressed their desire to host the tournament, with eight counties coming up and approaching the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
In recent times, English Cricket has shown their interest in coming together with the Indian Premier League somehow. Earlier this year, IPL team owners were offered stakes in the Hundred’s franchisees along with a chunk of money from broadcasting rights in Asia. Surrey Cricket Club had also suggested an annual event involving the IPL teams, which was supposed to help England Cricket recover the losses which happened due to the pandemic.
1. Sri Lanka
Last year, when the discussions of shifting the IPL had begun, Sri Lanka Cricket had offered that they are ready to host the 2020 edition. However, that plan didn’t go any further as BCCI went with the option of having it in the UAE. Having said that, Sri Lanka is ready to have that opportunity again this time, as expressed by one of the members of the Sri Lanka Cricket. Sri Lanka does have a window in September to host the tournament and have previously organised the Lankan Premier League 2020 successfully in the middle of the pandemic.
