BCCI under pressure to host international cricket before IPL 2020 in September: Report

Indian cricketers are yet to set their foot on a cricket field due to COVID-19 pandemic and the wait has only got longer with the situation still not under control in the country. The last time India played an international match was when they toured New Zealand in February this year.

Following the New Zealand tour, India was scheduled to take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series. However, the series was suspended due to COVID-19. The BCCI also cancelled matches against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe too due to pandemic. While the road towards the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is very much clear, a report has surfaced that stakeholders want BCCI to organize a few international games before the start of IPL 2020.

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Will India vs South Africa series take place before IPL 2020?

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, stakeholders are putting pressure on Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to conduct short international series for Indian players, preferably against South Africa just before the start of IPL 2020. As per the report, BCCI and Cricket South Africa have a few common stakeholders. Both the teams were scheduled to play three T20I games in August although the series was not part of the original Future Tours Program (FTP).

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The report further states that the IPL franchises will not be too happy to let the Indian players go for an international series before the IPL 2020 tournament but they have little choice. Secondly, the players are also short on match practice and they too will be willing to play few games before the IPL 2020.

Also Read: BCCI Seeks Modi Government's Nod To Hold IPL 2020 Between September & November In UAE

IPL 2020: UAE favourite to host the tournament

Following the ICC meeting on Monday, it was decided that the T20 World Cup will be postponed due to COVID-19. The news came as a huge relief for the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI, who were keen to hold the event. IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel while speaking to Republic TV, has said that the BCCI has written to the central government, seeking its permission to hold the IPL in the UAE between end of September and the first week of November.

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Coming to the new World Cup T20 dates, the ICC decided that this year's T20 World Cup will be moved between October-November 2021 with the final date being November 14. Consequently, the T20 World Cup 2021 has also been pushed to October – November 2022 with the final on November 13, 2022.

Recently, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, during his chat with Team India cricketer Mayank Agarwal, also hinted at the possibility of IPL 2020 being conducted outside India. While UAE has emerged as a likely venue for the 13th edition of the IPL, reports have also suggested that the board has considered Mumbai and Pune as alternative venues to stage the entire league considering the infrastructure. 

BCCI yet to decide on IPL dates 

Despite the ICC postponing the World Cup T20 until next year, the BCCI is yet to decide on final IPL dates. A member of the Governing Council has confirmed to Republic Media Network that the 2020 edition is likely to be truncated to 6 weeks and will be played between October and November. The IPL Governing Council has convened an emergent meeting on Friday to decide the IPL dates. The original IPL dates were March 29 with Mumbai Indians opening their title defence against Chennai Super Kings, but the IPL 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19.

(COVER IMAGE: BCCI / TWITTER)