India was badly hit by the second wave of COVID-19 as the country registered the highest number of positive cases in a day since the pandemic had started.

The condition went from bad to worse as some players and members of the support staff of different IPL franchises started testing positive inside their bio-bubbles.

After players started testing positive for this deadly virus, both BCCI and IPL governing council decided to indefinitely suspend this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).

With 31 matches still to go, canceling this year’s tournament altogether would’ve cost BCCI a heavy loss of over INR 2000 Crore. Thus, the board decided to have the second leg of the cash-rich league in UAE in the September-October window.

After IPL got rescheduled, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and England Cricket Board (ECB) made it clear that their players won’t be returning for the remainder of the tournament in UAE citing bio-bubble fatigue and a possible burnout before the T20 World Cup in October.

IPL 2021: BCCI practical about overseas cricketers’ availability for UAE-leg of IPL

However, former Pakistan opening batsman Salman Butt feels that BCCI will manage to get an appropriate window to make foreign players available for the UAE leg.

“I think they will find a way. They will create a window where people will be available. A few players might not be there but because it is the premier event of this format, they will somehow make a window for it. The tournament is huge, the organization (BCCI) is strong and at the moment they have the muscle so there is a greater chance that it will happen,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.

Even though BCCI is yet to confirm the dates, it is being learnt that the remaining 31 matches will be squeezed into a 20-day window with 10 double-headers and seven evening matches.

(With Hindustan Times Inputs)