IPL 2021: BCCI gets UAE nod to resume Season 14; 8 double-headers to be held over 25-day window: Report

June 3, 2021

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has gotten positive news from the Emirates Cricket Board over the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. Despite UAE hosting a few high-profile contests including the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and international cricket matches, the organisers have given BCCI the nod.
BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, along with a few other board members had travelled to the UAE for a meeting with Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Commissioner General of Expo 2020 Dubai as well as Sheikh Nahyan, chairman of Emirates Cricket Board (ECB). With the Indian board looking to begin the groundwork, it has been assured of ‘full cooperation’ like last year.
As per a report in Gulf News, the tournament will be conducted over a 25-day window which will have a total of 8 doubleheaders. BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly, is even set to stay in UAE for the next few days and do a recce of the venues.
It has also been learned that up to 30 percent fans could be allowed in the three stadiums — Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi — for the IPL Season 14 Phase-2. The Dubai Sports Council has been allowing a 30% capacity crowd in such public sporting events of late and the same could be implemented in the IPL.

The remainder of IPL 2021 season would also pave way for UAE to set the platform as possible hosts of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. With the Covid-19 pandemic still resulting in thousands of deaths every single day, UAE has been kept as the backup venue for the showpiece event.
The BCCI has until June 28 to finalise the venue for this year’s T20 World Cup. In the ICC meeting on June 01, the Indian board had asked for such an extension in order to observe how the Covid-19 situation develops in the country. The Emirates Cricket Board, however, has been given a heads up about the possibility of hosting the T20 World Cup too.