With the Covid-19 attack seeming relentless with India breaching the grim 1 million mark, UAE has emerged as the best possible alternative to host the 13th edition of Indian Premier League, which in all likelihood is scheduled to be held between end September and mid-November.
With most of the Indian cricketers home bound due to the Covid-19 enforced lockdown over the last 3-odd months, a few have got back to training with the government relaxing some norms over outdoor activities, keeping strict adherence to social distancing norms.
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However with the growing speculations over the IPL being hosted in the UAE, players could well shift their base to the Middle East nation to train ahead of the flagship tournament. The issue was discussed in the virtual Apex Council meeting on Friday but the final call will be taken by the IPL Governing Council.
"If the IPL is held in the UAE, then it only makes sense the Indian cricketers train there before the tournament. They have a good infrastructure in place. UAE is the most likely choice for the IPL with India getting increasingly unsafe (due to COVID-19)," a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"The other likely options are training camp in either Dharamsala or Ahmedabad (at the renovated Motera stadium) with a bio-bubble in place. But the cases continue to increase in India, so UAE will be the safest option," the official added.
Besides UAE, Sri Lanka has also offered to host the IPL. The UAE partially staged the tournament in 2014 due to the general elections in India.
The BCCI has zeroed in on September-early November window for the T20 extravaganza but for that, the ICC needs to announced the cancellation of the T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia in October-November.