Senior officials of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday, March 3, to figure out a way forward for hosting the cash-rich league in Mumbai.
Cricbuzz reported that Pawar, an influential figure in Maharashtra politics, assured BCCI acting CEO Hemang Amin and IPL chairman Brijesh Patel of all possible support from the Maharashtra government.
With surging cases of the novel coronavirus, BCCI has been apprehensive of holding the IPL in Mumbai, a city that has been averaging 15,000 new Covid-19 cases every day.
With just a little over a month left for the IPL to begin, BCCI have neither announced the dates nor the venue for the cash-rich tournament. Earlier, reports had suggested that BCCI are looking to host the tournament in six centres - Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai and if possible, Mumbai.
Cricbuzz further reported that the associations of Punjab, Rajasthan and Hyderabad have been trying to squeeze into the list of venues. Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh tweeted on 2 March that he was shocked at Mohali’s exclusion as an IPL venue and further stated that all necessary safety arrangements will be made if Mohali is allowed to hold matches.
The BCCI is waiting for the IPL Governing Council to approve the IPL schedule. Reports have suggested that it will be held in the next couple of days. With elections being held in the months of March and April the council will have their task cut out in the next few days.