Players would have to battle heat and dehydration if IPL is hosted in UAE, warns Aakash Chopra

Finally, the BCCI on Tuesday all but confirmed that the 2020 edition of the IPL would be hosted in the UAE, pending government approval. The speculation of the tournament being hosted in England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand have finally ceased to a conclusion, with UAE as the front-runner to host the competition. However, as there are positives to it, quite rightly so negatives are too tagged alongside. 

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra notified that the humid weather conditions in the Middle East could have an impact o the players. Whilst the players will have to battle the heat out, they would also have to be wary of the element of dehydration which could potentially hit the players. During the months of September and October, the temperature in the Middle East is set to be on the north side of 35-degree celsius, with no chance of rains. 

“There will be no problem although they might have to fight a little bit with the heat. For now, the weather is good. Let’s be fair, UAE experiences a lot of heat. But September and October are still the pleasant months,” Chopra said in a video on his Youtube channel ‘Aakash Vani’.

“In double-headers, however pleasant it might be, it is after all the heat of the middle east. So, batsmen might get dehydrated,” the cricketer-turned commentator added.

However, moving away from the weather conditions, Chopra offered a much-needed delight for some of the franchises. The 42-year-old opener from Agra named Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab as franchises who could benefit from the conditions away from home. 

“Batting conditions would not have much of an impact. In fact, certain teams may start feeling better. RCB for example, because when the grounds are big your bowling is not exposed that much even if it is weak. RCB I think might actually do well.

“You have got teams who have a lot of good spinners, so Chennai Super Kings will once again be the super kings. Even Kings XI Punjab, the place suits them a lot as well since Maxwell plays very well there,” he added.