IPL auction on February 18; UAE remains backup venue | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board (BCCI) remains to be uncertain in regards to the venue for the upcoming IPL season. The board introduced on Wednesday that the mini auction for this yr’s event can be held in Chennai on February 18. However the franchises are nonetheless unaware the place the event can be performed.
In keeping with sources, the board is open to internet hosting the event in UAE the place it organized the event efficiently final yr. “A name on the venue is prone to be taken after the mini public sale on Feb 18. BCCI is all choices. Internet hosting the IPL in India is at all times the precedence however the logistics have to be checked. UAE remains to be an possibility because the logistics are roughly in place there. BCCI had additionally signed an MoU and internet hosting settlement with the Emirates Cricket Board in September,” a senior BCCI official instructed TOI.

BCCI is eager to have followers again within the stadiums and the precedence is to conduct the event throughout India. The board can be ready to make a name relying on how the Covid pandemic state of affairs pans out over the subsequent month. If the protocols stay strict then the board will go for making a bubble in a single metropolis with not less than three stadiums. In that case, UAE may very well be logistically a greater possibility even for the broadcasters too.
As for the franchises, going into the public sale and not using a clear concept in regards to the venue is difficult. “Franchises have traditionally picked squads based mostly on the situations they’ll play in. As of now, nothing has been dominated out. UAE remains to be very a lot an possibility. BCCI is but to speak with the franchises in regards to the venues,” a senior franchise official instructed TOI.