Indian Premier League season to continue in the UAE in September and October

The remaining matches of the Indian Premier League, which was suspended as Coronavirus spread through the subcontinent earlier this month, will be completed in the United Arab Emirates in September and October.

Having played the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season in Dubai, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that the 2021 tournament’s remaining 31 IPL games, about half the season, into a packed five-week calendar.

The popular Twenty20 tournament was suspended with 31 matches left to play on 4th May after a number of players and backroom staff tested positive for the new coronavirus amid a devastating second wave of COVID-19 in India.

With Abu Dhabi set to host the Pakistan Premier League cricket competition in June, the BBCI advised that the UAE was a preferred venue "considering the monsoon season in India".

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said this month that COVID-19 restrictions meant it was impossible to stage the remaining games, about half the season, in India.

Organisers are likely to be looking to squeeze the matches into a window between England's The Hundred tournament, finishing in late August; India's Test tour of England, which finishes in mid-September; and the Twenty20 World Cup, which is scheduled to start in mid-October.

The UAE, is also the back-up venue for the T20 World Cup with the BCCI reportedly also asking for an extension to make a call on hosting arrangements for the T20 World Cup in October and November.

The BCCI said in a statement that they had asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) for more time to make a call on whether India would be able to host the event in October and November.

BCCI Treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said in early May that the board was facing losses of about $350 million in revenue because of the suspension of the tournament.

Image courtesy of BCCI.