Sourav Ganguly sanctioned this INCREDIBLE amount for BCCI to pay UAE for IPL 2020

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) had to be moved out of India due to the dreadful COVID-19 situation in India. The Sourav Ganguly-led Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) eventually decided to shift the cricketing extravaganza to the UAE, a move that proved too expensive for the board. While the IPL 2020 turned out to be an extravagant affair for the BCCI, for the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), it was a lucrative event.

IPL latest news: BCCI paid almost INR 100 crore to stage IPL 2020 in UAE

According to an InsideSport report, a BCCI official confirmed that ECB was paid a staggering INR 98.5 crore as hosting & match staging fees for the IPL 2020. He added that the hosting fee in the UAE is on a higher side in comparison to what gets spent on the same component in India but every country has its cost structures. The official further said that they are really thankful to the UAE's authorities for all their support at such short notice and in such difficult circumstances. According to him, it was because of ECB's support that they could deliver the IPL 2020 successfully.

Notably, in India, each state cricket board use to get INR 50 lakh as hosting and match staging fee but the same was doubled for IPL 2020 to INR 1 crore per match. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BCCI had to shift the competition to the UAE where they ended up paying almost INR 100 crore as hosting fees. Moreover, the ECB charged INR 2.52 crore to stage the Women's T20 Challenge (Women's IPL).

On top of that, the BCCI ended up spending INR 9.49 crore for conducting regular COVID-19 tests during the IPL 2020. It is worth mentioning that a whopping 20,000 COVID-19 tests were conducted during the course of the tournament. Furthermore, Sourav Ganguly led board paid INR 2.89 crore to UK-based Restrata Solutions to maintain IPL 2020's bio-secure bubble in the UAE.

IPL latest news: IPL suspension comes midway just like PSL 2021

IPL 2021 was indefinitely suspended earlier this week after several players and staff members across franchises tested positive for COVID-19 in the last couple of days. The IPL suspension news was confirmed by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla who announced that the tournament was suspended indefinitely keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation in India.

Notably, the IPL suspension decision was made after Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Wriddhiman Saha tested positive for the ungodly virus on Tuesday. The Saha COVID news came a day after KKR players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier, as well as, CSK team 2021 CEO Kasi Viswanathan, bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji and a bus cleaner tested positive for COVID-19. The Saha Covid news pretty much was the last nail in the coffin for the IPL suspension.

SOURCE: AP