UAE has offered to host IPL 13, reveals Arun Dhumal

Having already seen two editions - or at least a part of it - being played outside the country, the Indian Premier League (IPL) being hosted away from the country is not something that the organizers, fans and players are not used to. The entirety of IPL 2009, the second edition of the tournament, was held in South Africa while in 2014, the first leg of the tournament was hosted in United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

With Covid-19 cases in India on a steady, upward spiral, with the cases now having exceeded the 60,000 mark, the chances of IPL 2020 being held in India look extremely slim, but in what comes as positive news for fans around the world, BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal has confirmed that UAE have once again offered to host the tournament. Dhumal, however, added that no decision has yet been made and the BCCI are yet to respond to the proposal.

“The UAE has offered to host the IPL if we want them to. But right now when there is no international travel, there is no question of taking a call on that,” said BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal, reported Hindustan Times.

Having already given his views about the India-Australia series in December, stating that the Indian players would be ready to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, Dhumal restated that the priority will always be the health and safety of players and conceded that no decision can be taken as of the moment.

“The health and security of players and all participants is our priority. At the moment, the entire world travel has come to a standstill, so there is nothing we can decide at this stage.”

Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had also offered to host the IPL, but the proposal was unofficially turned down by the BCCI.