'It's Not Going Anywhere': IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal Quashes Reports Of League Being Shifted To UAE

IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal is confident that even the second-leg of IPL 2024 will be played in India amid the Lok Sabha Elections.

Huge replica of IPL Trophy at Bandstand, Bandra in 2022. (FILES)

Source : Getty

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is all set to get underway on March 22 with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. While the organisers have only announced the schedule for the first 21 matches and were awaiting the Lok Sabha Election Poll dates before announcing the dates of the second leg of the tournament, there were media reports which suggested that the second-leg could happen in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to avoid a clash with the General Elections.

However, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal has rubbished all such reports and said that the tournament is not going anywhere else but will be hosted in India itself.

"We are working closely with the government agencies and as soon as the dates of general elections announce, we will figure out the further plan...and hopefully the second phase of IPL will take place in India only, it's not going anywhere else," Dhumal told news agency IANS.

We are working closely with the government agencies and as soon as the dates of general elections announce, we will figure out the further plan...and hopefully the second phase of IPL will take place in India only, it's not going anywhere else: IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal told IANS pic.twitter.com/22fWdUm75L

— IANS (@ians_india) March 16, 2024

'Will This Be MS Dhoni's Final Season In IPL?'

With yet another season of the IPL approaching, fans are wondering whether this would be the final season of MS Dhoni in the lucrative tournament. Similar question was on the minds of the fan even before the last season or the season before that but Dhoni has survived and even led the Men in Yellow to glory to their record-equalling fifth IPL title in IPL 2023.

AB de Villiers, the former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star had his say on the same in a video uploaded on his YouTube Channel.

"There were a lot of rumours about MS Dhoni finishing up last year; that was not the case, ladies and gentlemen. He would be back again.

"Will this be his final season? No one knows. He just seems to be this diesel engine that never ends. He keeps running. What an incredible player, what an incredible captain," de Villiers said.