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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has more or less zeroed in on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to host the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 if the International Cricket Council (ICC) postpones the T20 World Cup, scheduled for September-November.

The roadmap for IPL 2020 which was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic was among the primary item in an 11-point agenda marked for the meeting.

For the official announcement, BCCI is now just waiting for two things to fall in place. 

  • Condition 1 – ICC announces the postponement of the T20 World Cup
  • Condition 2 – Indian Government permissions to take IPL 2020 out of India.

The schedule and format of the IPL 2020 will be finalized once both these conditions are met.

Yesterday, BCCI’s Apex Council met via video conference and the meeting continued on Friday evening for 4 hours. IPL 2020, domestic cricket, venue for the national camps, Indian cricket team’s international schedule were discussed threadbare.

Why the UAE?

Apart from the reduced quarantine period, the BCCI also believes that the UAE, being a travel hub, is well connected. Medical facilities and previous experience of hosting the IPL may work in the UAE's favour.

The BCCI is now targetting a shortened window of 5 to 6 weeks for IPL 2020 between September and early November, provided the T20 World Cup is postponed.

Training camp likely in Ahmedabad

International cricket has resumed after the enforced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the ongoing Test series between England and West Indies. Pakistan have also reached England for their Test and T20I series in August-September and other teams, including Sri Lanka and South Africa, have begun training.

However, BCCI had said it would organise a training camp for its contracted players only when it can guarantee health and safety.