The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) was indefinitely postponed by the BCCI and IPL governing council since some players and members of support staff had tested positive for COVID-19 inside teams’ bio-bubble.
After the postponement, there were many venues being considered for the remainder of the tournament. England was one of them, but former England spinner Monty Panesar has suggested not to hold the cash rich league as it rains a lot there in September.
“IPL shouldn’t be held in England in September because it will rain a lot there. Too many intervals will spoil the fun. If India are not able to control the pandemic, it should be held in UAE because weather conditions play a huge factor,” Panesar told Sports Yaari, a Youtube channel.
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“When it rains in England, it plays spoilsport. You will see an important T20 match get reduced to 15 overs and then 10 overs. We don’t want that to happen with IPL because the brand will take a hit,” he added.
The Englishman then suggested the authorities to have the second leg of the tournament in the UAE as he feels weather there is great for cricket.
“IPL's brand is about completed games which are very exciting. 15th to 20th over are high scoring and the most exciting, it won't be fun [if it rains and overs are reduced]. Authorities should take weather into account while deciding fixtures. The weather in UAE is great,” the 39-year-old said.
With 31 matches still to go, BCCI was supposed to suffer an INR 2000 Crore loss and thus, the authorities are in talks to have the remainder of IPL 2021 in September window.
(With Hindustan Times inputs)
