IPL 2020 awaits nod for UAE

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni prior to last year's IPL final at Hyderabad. PIC/AFP

It's been over a week since the BCCI wrote to the Indian government for permission to shift the IPL to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but according to sources, the approval hasn't arrived.

Without the Indian government's green signal, today's Governing Council meeting, which will be chaired by Brijesh Patel, may not hold a lot of importance. If at all it is held, the government's nod will top the 10-point agenda.

"We will get to know tomorrow. We have written to the government. We will take the updates tomorrow about the situation," a top BCCI official told mid-day on Saturday. There will be nothing official about the IPL in the UAE until the Board receives the government's nod.

Will the meeting take place if the government's nod is not received? "We will follow it up," was all that the official could say.

Sponsorship issue on agenda

The BCCI is hopeful that the IPL schedule will be finalised at the meeting. The sponsorship issue with regards to some Chinese firms will also be discussed. Another items on the agenda is the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that the BCCI has prepared for the IPL franchises to create the bio-bubble. The SOP has been prepared after analysing the recent England v West

Indies Test series, the ongoing England v Ireland ODI series and football leagues happening around the world. There will be SOPs from the Emirates Cricket Board and the UAE government as well.

However, the Board official said the SOP has been prepared keeping in mind the fiery nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It [SOP] has to be dynamic because the situation is constantly evolving.

We will take a call according to the best possible scenario at that time," he said.

Concern over SA players

There are concerns amongst the franchises as far as the South African players' participation is concerned what with the Rainbow Nation in total lockdown and no flights in operation. With the IPL still more than a month away, the BCCI official said a call will be taken on the Proteas players when the tournament inches closer. "We have our plans in place but we don't know what the scenario will be at that time with other countries. So, we will be following up regularly for updates.

"In these uncertain times, it doesn't make sense to expect much. Let us see how the situation develops. We will take the best possible decisions. We have to play each ball on its merit," he stressed.

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