IPL franchises having tough time over hotels availability as the dates clash with Dubai Expo

The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) had to be paused owing to the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country. Thus it was then announced by the BCCI that the reaming half of the IPL tournament will be hosted by the UAE from mid-September. But ahead of the resumption of the league, the officials of the franchises have to put their thinking hats on for managing the logistics for their respective teams and players.

The dates of the IPL are clashing against the Dubai Expo which is set to commence from October 1. Owing to this, the franchise officials are having a tough time with the availability of the hotels and their rising prices. Also, Dubai Expo being a mega event would attract a lot of people from across the world for the six-month-long event which will further create problems for the IPL teams to manage a strict bio-bubble.

The IPL franchises have not yet been given the green signal from the BCCI to travel to the UAE to make the necessary arrangements due to the current Covid Scenario. According to News18, a franchise official stated that the uncertainties of the pandemic might lead them to make a few decisions over video calls. The official also highlighted that getting rooms in huge numbers would be another challenge considering the Dubai Expo.

“But looking at how the Covid-19 situation is always changing, we might look at video calls to complete the bookings. We need to keep in mind the Dubai Expo and how it might make it difficult to get bulk rooms with every passing day.” Said the official.

IPL 2021 bio-bubble would be a big task

Taking into account the mega event of the Dubai Expo, the IPL franchises feel that managing the bio-bubble would be a big task. As more people would be traveling to UAE a lot more concern about getting rooms in different wings would be a stern concern.

“We are looking at new hotel this time around and we want 80-100 rooms and preferably in the separate wing so that there is no chance of the players or staff  entering and exiting from the same passage as used by the guests staying in the hotel.”