BCCI to look at different venues other than Maharashtra to host IPL 2021

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) across three venues namely Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah due to the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in India. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is trying hard to conduct the 2021 edition of the T20 Championship in India only.

The successful implementation of domestic tournaments like Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 and ongoing international series between India and England thus far in a biosecure bubble has given hopes to the authorities and the Indian board of conducting the IPL 2021 too in the country in the month of April and May.

A few days back, it was reported that BCCI is planning to host the entire IPL 2021 in Maharashtra and Pune because of the presence of four international venues including Wankhede, Brabourne, DY Patil and Reliance Stadium along with hosting the play-off games at the newly-built Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This would have been a major advantage for the Indian board as they could have made a smaller bio-bubble pool across the aforementioned cities.

BCCI to create similar bio-bubble for IPL like the domestic tournaments

However, seeing the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, BCCI is looking for other options in different cities including Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. Meanwhile, while planning to conduct matches at other venues, BCCI will have to look at other factors involved like Kolkata and Chennai will be soon having their local state elections and it shouldn’t clash with IPL matches.

With a shift in the matches, it is speculated that the Indian board can make a biosecure bubble similar to the ones that were made for domestic tournaments like Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy. The ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy is being hosted across six venues including Surat, Indore, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Jaipur and Tamil Nadu in a biosecure bubble. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was held in similar venues only but instead of Surat and Jaipur, Mumbai and Vadodara had hosted the games.