Reports: The whole of IPL 2019 to be hosted out of India

Indian cricket fans might be in for some serious bad news as there are chances of the upcoming edition of the glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL) being shifted out of the country. The first instance of this happened back in 2009 and a repeat of that scenario seems to be in order, with South Africa fast emerging as the front-runner in the race to host the twelfth edition of the cash-rich tournament.

Back in 2009, the world-favourite T20 tournament was shifted out of India to South Africa owing to the general elections being held in the country at that time. The tournament also had to be hosted out of the country during the 2014 elections. Since 2019 will once again see the general election being held around the time period of April-May, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly exploring its options for the series.

IPL 2019 might be held in South Africa

As reported by Twenty20Wiki, a source claiming to be from within the BCCI commented, “It could be a difficult situation for players and franchise owners if they’d be asked to play under different conditions within just 2-3 days, say from India to UAE or South Africa. Making adjustment with conditions in such scenario would be tough task for everyone. Hence we are working to shift entire IPL 2019 season to another country and South Africa is the front runner due to their prior 2009 experience.”

Speaking about the logistics behind the decision, the source added, “There are more number of stadiums in South Africa than UAE and hosting all 60 matches couldn’t be possible for 2-3 venues. This makes Africa front runner to host the next season. Also we’re planing to kick of IPL 2019 in the mid of March so that overseas players can also get to play maximum games. PSL also be hosted in UAE. So there would be less time for grounds men to complete preparations.”

Prior to this piece of development, Cricket South Africa (CSA) had scheduled an unnamed and unsponsored franchise T20 tournament for April-May, 2019. It is still in the cold box and there is no development on the tournament. However, the prospect of hosting one of the most loved cricketing tournaments worldwide will be an exciting prospect for the CSA.

Reportedly, each team may be assigned an adopted home venue in order to engage the local crowds. Although UAE is also being considered as a prospective host nation, better infrastructure and prior experience keep the scales tipped in CSA’s favour.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.