IPL 2021 a fresh start in the United Arab Emirates

The Cricket Regulatory Board in India, during its Special Meeting, officially decided that the unfinished part of the Indian Premier League 2021 will be held in the United Arab Emirates.

The move to place the IPL in the UAE was highly anticipated. As previously reported, BCCI already has an informal agreement with the Emirates Cricket Board. The official decision was taken on Saturday (May 29) to transfer the rest of the IPL 2021 to the UAE - due to bad weather in India from about September to October, when it seeks to host the remaining 31 IPL matches.

The biggest obstacle to hosting the tournament will be the unavailability of foreign players, and the BCCI has decided that franchises will be told to take up positions, from India and overseas, to renew their players. England and the Wales Cricket Board have already stated they will not release their remaining IPL players while Cricket Australia is still out of action. A meeting with the IPL franchises will take place at some point.

The board also decided to seek a deadline until the first week of July at the International Cricket Council for a decision on placing the T20 WC in India. The ICC has adjourned its meeting on June 1 to take a decision on the matter, but the international body may have to postpone the decision to cancel the October 18-November 15 tournament in India at the request of the BCCI. The BCCI thinks it will look at every opportunity to host it in India itself.

During the meeting it was decided that the BCCI would continue negotiations with the government regarding the T20 WC tax clearance, and it was calculated that the BCCI would incur a debt of INR 900 thousand if it failed to obtain the exemption. Considering the financial debt and the ever-changing situation of Covid-19 in the country, BCCI will take the call to place the T20 WC. In the meantime, it will tell the ICC to give it another month.

Meanwhile, the issue of the payment of local players, who were to be compensated after many tournaments were not held, was not discussed at the SGM. One of the organizations even raised the issue for discussion but was rejected by Sourav Ganguly and Rajeev Shukla, saying it was not part of the plan.

Costs and challenges involved in IPL's UAE leg -

During an informal meeting with officials of the Indian Cricket Regulatory Board (BCCI) earlier this year, a question about gate revenue was raised by a franchise official. The BCCI office manager, in deep trouble because he was forced to hold the IPL in a challenging and crowded area of ​​Covid, retorted: "Would you like to share media rights or gateway money?"

BCCI has officially decided that the unfinished part of IPL 2021 will be held in the UAE.

What he wished to convey to the franchises (s) was that if he insisted on earning 15-20 rand from ticket sales, he would not forget much about the IPL itself - its cancellation could result in a loss of Rs 180-200 crores. The message from the BCCI was clear at the time, and now - in these challenging situations driven by Covid, the focus should be on the big picture, namely the completion of the IPL, which met the roadblock in May. Both the BCCI and the franchises have much to gain by completing IPL 14.

Obviously there is a lot at stake for the BCCI and the franchise, but the more important question is what are the other reasons why some boards have ensured that the 14th season of the IPL is visible? And a clear extension of that question is whether they will allow their players to participate in the league, the World Cup watching them, and a two-nation (six-nation) series in the corner.

Cost of additional costs -

The second most important point of placing the second leg is that most costs can be doubled or tripled. Travel costs, for example, will double - foreign players have already come and gone. Bringing them back for the second time in the business sector - assuming international travel will be allowed in Dubai - and getting them back will also cost all involved a double price. Adding to the burden are the cost of charter flights - Indians, CPLs and others involved in a series of international flights will have to be imported by special airlines to ensure bubble-to-bubble transfers.

If travel expenses are doubled, the accommodation budget will be three times the price. The franchise official explained the point. During IPL 2020, they had to pay 600 AEDs (close to Rs 12,000) per room per night in Dubai / Abu Dhabi on average. At the time of the Indian leg of IPL 2021, five Indian star hotels charge a subsidy of only Rs 3,500 per room per night. "The BCCI has arranged permits from Indian hotels. Can they do it in the UAE? It's a big problem. The cost of accommodation is three times higher," the franchise official said. Apart from that, the franchise will have to organize camps in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for many players who may not have played since the IPL suspension. That will lead to more residency in the UAE.

Security measures -

Ultimately the issue of secure contracts with life. While there should be little BCCI concern at this stage - given the strong action of Covid and the vaccinated people in the UAE, the BCCI will still need to be vigilant. The problem could be solved in Dubai, however the teams will still need to be placed in a controlled bubble area and have to be approved by experts like Restrata, who did a commendable job in 2020 but not involved in 2021. The BCCI may need to rehabilitate an English company, because, it cannot afford another environmentally protected environment in India.