IPL 2022: The BCCI is prioritising holding the tournament in India but the decision will be dependent on what the state governments decide and for now, the board is focusing on holding the auction.
The tournament’s 2020 edition and the second half of the 2021 edition was held in the UAE. (Courtesy of BCCI)
HIGHLIGHTS
- The BCCI is focussing on hosting the tournament in India
- The board is currently concerned with how to host the IPL auction
- The BCCI earlier postponed all upcoming domestic tournaments
Hosting the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) overseas is among the options being considered but the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) will primarily be focussing on holding the tournament in India. A source in the know of things told Sports Tak that for now, the board is prioritising holding the auction ahead of the tournament.
The source said that the board is monitoring the Covid-19 situation closely and no decision has been taken as of now with regards to venues for the tournament. India reported 1,59,632 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday, 12.4 per cent higher than Saturday, according to data shared by the Union Health Ministry. Of this, 3,623 cases were of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus.
While dates have not been officially announced yet, the 2022 IPL is expected to kick off in early April while the auction could be held in early February. When asked what the plan is if the number of cases spike around the time of the tournament, the source said that the team is working on the plan will have to see that what guidelines the state governments issue and a call will be taken accordingly.
“We are exploring all options which include overseas IPL as well. But our focus is to host IPL in India for sure. As of now our priority is auction, we will soon take a call,” said the source.
The 2020 edition of the tournament was entirely held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While the 2021 IPL was initially scheduled to be held in India behind closed doors, the tournament had to be postponed halfway through due to a rising number of cases within the bio-bubbles amidst the deadly second wave of the virus in the country. It was eventually resumed and completed later in the year in the UAE.
The BCCI recently postponed all upcoming domestic tournaments, including the Ranji Trophy, due to the pandemic. Board president Sourav Ganguly said that the board is prioritising hostong the tournaments at some point.
Click here for IndiaToday.in’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.