Reports: BCCI hoping to host IPL 2022 in India, but 'exploring all options' with worsening Covid-19 situation

BCCI has instilled their priority for hosting the IPL 2022 to be in India, while overseas options have also been talked about. The current Covid-19 situation in India might not be ideal for the BCCI to conduct the tournament in 10 venues as the cases seem to be spreading at an astounding rate. The IPL 2022 is expected to start from April this year and will go down into the end of May.

Meanwhile, the mega auction dates of February 12 and 13 remain doubt as well as Karnataka state has been imposing serious restrictions. The venue for the mega auction could be shifted from Bengaluru or either the dates will be postponed as per the recent sources from BCCI. Also, the tournament is expected to start few days earlier to reduce the number of doubleheaders.

We are exploring all options: BCCI source

The IPL 2021 had to be split into two halves with the first phase being held in India in the month of April last year behind closed doors. However, the Covid-19 entry into the bio bubble meant that the tournament had to be suspended in the midway and the remainder of the tournament had to be held in UAE under restrictions in the month of October. As per sources, the BCCI is considering overseas options as well for the upcoming tournament like in 2020 or 2021.

“We are exploring all options which include overseas IPL as well. But our focus is to host IPL in India for sure. As of now, our priority is auction, we will soon take a call,” sources read as quoted by IndiaToday

The BCCI had recently postponed the domestic tournaments in India along with the Ranji Trophy season seeing the surge in Covid-19 cases inside the state camp. As many as six players tested positive inside Bengal’s camp while Mumbai’s Shivam Dube also tested positive. The new variant Omicron has been spreading quicker than the previous mutant and it has brought in a lot of fear around the country at the moment.