India vs Pakistan on UAE soil? Here's how the rivalry could get rekindled this year

The India vs Pakistan rivalry on the cricket ground has always featured high-intensity matches that the fans have eagerly witnessed over the years. However, this India vs Pakistan rivalry may get rekindled in the upcoming period in the UAE as both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are trying to reserve the venues in the UAE for their international and domestic fixtures. The conflict may arise in the upcoming period as both the nations are not able to organize their fixtures on home soil due to the coronavirus situation.

UAE emerging as a preferred host during the pandemic situation

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) will be facing the challenge of organizing several fixtures for different countries as the UAE has proved to be the preferred destination to host matches during the pandemic. During the first year of the pandemic, the UAE hosted the IPL 2020 season without any major problems and the season was concluded smoothly. The UAE will also be hosting the remaining portion of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the month of June. The PSL 2021 was earlier suspended in the month of March.

BCCI's bid to host IPL 2021 in the UAE as per the IPL latest news

As per the IPL latest news, the BCCI is planning to host the remaining portion of the IPL 2021 season between the period of September 15 - October 15 and the UAE is almost confirmed as the host nation. On the other hand, the Pakistan cricket team will also be facing New Zealand and Afghanistan in 2 bilateral series which is expected to start from the month of September in the UAE as well. The PCB has set 3 ODI and 3 T20I matches with New Zealand and it is bound to clash with the remaining portion of the IPL 2021.

UAE as a standby venue for the T20 World Cup 2021

The ECB will have to figure out a way to organize these fixtures which may overlap with each other, especially in the month of September. On the other hand, the ICC has also kept the UAE as a standby venue if the situation in India does not prove conducive to host the T20 World Cup 2021 matches. In such a case, the ECB will have to hand over its grounds to the ICC by October 1, 15 days before the start of the tournament.

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is expected to start on October 18. Besides, hosting so many fixtures will also require the pitches in the UAE to be maintained properly for quality cricket matches. The ECB will have to come up with an adequate time schedule after they finish hosting the PSL 2021 to accommodate the wide array of fixtures.

Image Source: BCCI/PCB Twitter