New Zealand offers to host IPL 2020 season

New Zealand has offered to host the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It’s the third nation after Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to have also come forward for the same. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to take a final call. The IPL earlier was scheduled to start on March 29, but the COVID-19 pandemic played spoilsport.

The Indian board is currently looking for a window to host the event. Their decision also depends on the ICC’s call regarding the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to start mid-October. As far as the IPL goes, chances of the tournament in India looks glum as the country has risen to third in coronavirus affected cases. Only Brazil and the United States of America (USA) are behind India.

The safety of the players is paramount: BCCI official

“Staging the event in India has to be the first choice but in case it is not safe to have it, then we will look at the overseas options. UAE, Sri Lanka and New Zealand have also offered to host the IPL,” a  senior BCCI official was quoted as saying in India Today on conditions of anonymity.

“We will sit down with all stakeholders (broadcaster, teams, etc) and take a call. The safety of the players is paramount. There will be no compromise on that,” the official added.

The IPL has already place abroad in the past. Back in 2009, the entire tournament took place in South Africa due to elections in India. Then again in 2014, a part of the T20 league happened in the UAE after which the second half of the IPL returned to India.

If the tournament takes place in the land of the Kiwis, the issue regarding match-timings will also need to be adjusted. With New Zealand, India already has a time difference of seven and half hours. Even if the games, start at 12:30 in the afternoon, most of the office-goers would be missing out.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Mumbai Indians (MI), the defending champions, were set to lock horns in the opening game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. But then the lockdowns in India owing to the coronavirus turned detrimental.