IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be seeking government clearance in the next couple of weeks to organise the league's 13th edition in UAE.
The BCCI has got a new spring in its stride when it comes to IPL 2020, with the ICC confirming on Monday (July 20) the postponement of the T20 World Cup in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This means the board now has a new window in September-November to plan a schedule around and put all bio-secure arrangements in place for its annual event.
Before that, of course, a clearance from the central government will have to be sought, considering international travel is still not allowed and they seems to have finalised UAE as the host country, with the pandemic peaking here in India.
"Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks (BCCI) will seek clearances from the government for the tournament (IPL) to be played in the UAE," Patel told India Today.
"The UAE government offered us to host the IPL in their country and we are very much aware of the facilities and situation there. The IPL (first leg) was played there (UAE) in 2014 so we know what we are looking at."
"Within a week the IPL governing council meeting will be held where the next plan of action is to be discussed," he added.
It is understood, in the last week's BCCI apex council it was decided that there will be a camp organised for the players at Ahmedabad's new Motera stadium. Indian players have had to make do with whatever training facility they have available near them and not been able to come together for a proper session since March. So this would be a relief.
The National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore was another venue discussed for the camp, but with Karnataka showing a rise in the COVID-19 positive cases, it wasn't deemed the right place.
Players centrally contracted by the BCCI are expected to be part of this camp. The IPL franchises, on the other hand, are exploring their own options on how to get their players hitting the ground running.
It is being reported that the IPL 2020 could start on September 26, with the final to be played on November 7 or 8.
A clearer picture on all things is expected in the coming weeks.
(Inputs from India Today)
