Reports | Hemang Amin to lead BCCI’s final venue inspection in UAE next week

While the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign and External Affairs have cleared the move for the IPL to be played in the United Arab Emirates, the IPL Governing Council is taking its own sweet time in announcing the schedule for the mega event to be played outside of the country for the third time in 13 years. 

Even though the Emirates Cricket Board have confirmed that they have all the permissions in place already, ESPN Cricinfo reported that the BCCI will do one last check, with the interim CEO cum IPL COO Hemang Amin visiting the facility next week. Although the IPL has sent franchises a set of draft SOPs, following Amin’s visit that will be discussed with the ECB which subsequently need to be ratified by the UAE government.

As already announced, the IPL will be played between September 19 and November 10 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The teams will leave for UAE, by late August, from their own base with RT-PCR tests being done both in India and upon arrival in the UAE.

Meanwhile, ECB chairman Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan confirmed that they have received the official intimation from the BCCI and are waiting to stage the “pinnacle-event of our favourite sport”.

"We feel extremely privileged to host what could be considered the pinnacle-event of our favourite sport. The magnitude of being in a position to bring the IPL to the vast cricket-loving global community, during current events which have greatly impacted our daily lives, is one we take with extreme importance," Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan said in a statement.