Reports | Multiple English counties offer to host remainder of IPL 2021 in September
IPL 2021 could be moved to England
|Several English counties, including the MCC, Surrey and Warwickshire, have reportedly written to ECB offering to host the remainder of the 2021 Indian Premier League season in September. Earlier today, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that BCCI were also looking at a potential September window.
In what comes as hugely encouraging news for the BCCI and the future of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), there is a very high chance that the now-halted season could be completed as several England counties have reportedly written to the ECB, offering to host the remainder of the 2021 Indian Premier League season in September.
According to ESPNCricinfo, The MCC (who own Lord's), Surrey (who are based at The Kia Oval), Warwickshire (who are based in Birmingham) and Emirates Old Trafford (in Manchester) have all written to the ECB claiming that they could host IPL 2021 games at their respective home grounds and are said to have told the English board that a two-week window might be enough to wrap up the tournament.Â
Not just this, ESPNCricinfo has also reported that the Counties believe that the matches could be hosted in front of packed stadiums. As things stand, spectators will return to international cricket matches in England starting from the New Zealand Tests, at a reduced capacity, but the Counties are said to be hopeful that, by September, the situation would be under control to the extent that games could be played in front of packed stadiums. Both the 2020 and the halted 2021 editions of the IPL were played behind closed doors.
âApart from simply completing the tournament, the counties point out that it would help top players to high-quality cricket heading into the T20 World Cup and ensure that pitches in the UAE - where the T20 World Cup could be played if it is moved from India - are fresh ahead of the global tournament. It might also broaden the UK market for the IPL,â the ESPNCricinfo report further added.Â
India are scheduled to play a five-Test series against England in the months of August and September, and so a vast majority of the Indian players will already be in the country should the tournament be staged in the UK in September. Earlier today, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also hinted that the board are looking at the possibility of potentially completing IPL 2021 in a small window before the World T20. As things stand, the World T20 is expected to be moved from India to the UAE and is set to be played in the months of October and November.Â
