The Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering relocating the remaining portion of the 14th edition of IPL which was postponed indefinitely due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases to the United Kingdom, TOI reported.
England has emerged as the most preferred location because the UK government is likely to allow spectators into the stadiums which the BCCI believe will boost the revenue for all itself and all stakeholders such as ECB, English counties and IPL franchises.
“UK is a relatively costlier destination. But on the flipside, the UK government is allowing crowds for sports events. That means, franchises can earn from gate money and that will subsidize costs. As of now, this is how the BCCI is seeing it,” the TOI report said.
The report also claimed that the BCCI has marked the UAE as only an alternative option to the UK in case the cost of holding the remained of the tournament will be estimated above the manageable level.
The report also suggested that the BCCI has ruled out Sri Lanka as a potent location of choice for relocating the IPL 2021.
“Only if costs are escalating to a point where it starts affecting stakeholders, the BCCI will consider the UAE as the second option for the IPL. On that front, we aren’t even discounting the idea of hosting the IPL in Sri Lanka,” the report said further.
Notably, three English counties had offered to host the remainder of the IPL 2021 at their grounds in consultation with the ECB. The Surrey, the MCC and Warwickshire had written to the ECB to show interest in hosting the cash-rich league this year.