BCCI in talks with foreign players for IPL 2021 second leg

The second leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to take place from September 19 to October 15 in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi will host the remaining matches in the league that started in April. Prior to the second leg, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has some thinking to do regarding the participation of foreign players.

On Saturday, July 31, during a meeting, the BCCI officials decided to work with other countries’ boards for foreign participation in the IPL. Earlier, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said that the English players need to make themselves available for international cricket.

The BCCI officials, who were a part of the meeting, said that efforts are in place to make sure of foreign participation. The IPL began in April but had to be halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of players and support staff tested positive after which the BCCI pulled the plug.

During the meeting, the world’s richest cricket board also discussed the chances of Oman hosting six games in the T20 World Cup. The BCCI is in charge of the multi-nation tournament and their officials are the decision-makers as far as allocation of games is concerned.

Six league games of Group B could take place at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat. Oman, having qualified for the tournament, is a part of the group along with Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea.

I am particularly delighted to be in Oman, says Jay Shah

Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, talked about the same while launching the tournament earlier in July in Muscat. It has been learned that in a meeting in Delhi,

“I am particularly delighted to be in Oman. As a major force in world cricket, the BCCI has always endeavoured to promote and assist Associate Nations. In my capacity as Asian Cricket Council President, my vision is to take cricket far and deep into Asia,” Shah was quoted as saying, Cricbuzz reported

“Co-hosting the World Cup will put Oman Cricket on the global stage. They are also playing the Qualifiers and it will be icing on the cake if they make it to the Super 12s,” he added.