The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) in UAE is prepared in case the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decides to move the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the Middle East amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BCCI is hoping for the imminent postponement of the T20 World Cup, scheduled from October 18 till November 15, to inadvertently create a new window for the IPL 2020, which was originally due to start on March 29 but remains indefinitely suspended.
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According to a report published in Gulf News, IPL franchise owners have no issue with the league taking place overseas in wake of the pandemic, which is beginning to peak in India, with 10 lakh cases reported. The spike is likely to also create a general consensus within the BCCI regime on playing the tournament abroad.
The IPL has previously also been held in UAE in 2014 when venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah had hosted one-third of the league stage due to the general elections going here.
The report states that BCCI has been in regular touch with ECB to assess the hosting capability for an entire 60-game tournament.
Salman Hanif, Head of Cricket & Events of Dubai Sports City, which includes the main Dubai International stadium and ICC Academy, said they are prepared to play host to multiple games across a short window.
"The stadium has nine wickets on the top in case a large number of matches have to be accommodated within a smaller time-frame. We will not be scheduling any matches there to keep the wickets fresh," Hanif told Gulf News.
Leading Indian players, including skipper Virat Kohli, are yet to return to training, something UAE, as was reported, can also make safe arrangements for if the international travel is allowed.
"The practice facilities are never be going to be a problem as we have hosted multi-team events before," said Hanif. "In the ICC complex alone, there are 38 wickets - spread over the two Oval grounds, the simulated turf wickets as well as the state-of-the-art indoor facilities in case they want to beat the heat."
